AN Edinburgh-based educational technology (EdTech) company is aiming to help 15 million children from poorer backgrounds in the UK and US over the next five years after securing £1.4 million of funding.
Sumdog – developer of a games-based learning system – won the funding from Nesta Impact Investments and Scottish Enterprise investment arm the Scottish Investment Bank (SIB).
Last year Sumdog engaged three million young pupils in the UK and US and helped them improve their attainment in maths and English.
The company expects to increase its headcount by half over the next 12 months, with posts being created at its Edinburgh HQ and senior appointments at its New York office.
Sumdog says its online adaptive learning system, aligned to key education curricula here and in the States, is helping its core mission of closing the attainment gap between children from the least and most deprived backgrounds.
It says independent studies in Glasgow and Texas have demonstrated its effectiveness in accelerating educational attainment by children who have fallen behind in the curriculum. The funding from Nesta and the SIB is being made with the intention of generating measurable and positive social impact alongside a financial return.
Sumdog saw a 50 per cent increase in turnover during 2016 and expects to build that this year. Its system is already regularly used across a large number of all UK primary and US elementary schools.
It is also working on plans to create an immersive 3D learning environment, further enhancing engagement with all children, including those who may have become disenchanted with school and learning.
Sumdog CEO Andrew Hall said: “This is a really exciting time for Sumdog as we seek to expand our team to include the specialist skills we will need to achieve our future ambitions.
“As a high-impact company, our core mission is to close the educational attainment gap by helping all children reach their full potential. By capturing children’s imagination, Sumdog wants to become a world leader in online learning, starting with maths and English but ultimately covering a much broader range of subjects.
“This £1.4m investment will make a crucial contribution as we strive to meet our objective of helping 15 million children across the UK and the US over the next five years.”
Ishaan Chilkoti, from Nesta Impact Investments said: “We believe Sumdog has developed a proven platform for online learning. They have shown a clear commitment to achieving social impact and are already reaching large numbers of children from disadvantaged backgrounds, both here in the UK and in the US.”
SIB director Kerry Sharp added: “Sumdog is another example of a strong, successful Scottish company to come out of Edinburgh’s tech business hub and is a huge endorsement for Scotland’s position as one of the leading tech hubs in the world.”
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