365telugu.com,online news,Bangalore, India 8th April, 2021: PlayShifu, the only early-learning toy company helping children develop a complete spectrum of foundational skills through physical and digital play, announced a Series B fundraise of $17 million. The announcement preceded the launch plan of eight new products in 2021. Inventus Capital India led the round, with Inflexor Ventures joining as a new investor. Chiratae Ventures and Bharat Innovation Fund also participated again.
The fundraise follows the most successful year to date in the tech startup’s four-year history. As per the Morning Consult, the pandemic has also led a majority of parents (62%) to look at devices and technology as educational tools too. PlayShifu was founded to help parents convert their children’s screen time into meaningful phygital play– the interaction of tactile toys with a digital device–combined with gamifying early learning skills. Its three series of products, Orboot, Plugo, and Tacto, have established PlayShifu as a top-recommended brand by parents, as justified by a repeat purchase rate of more than 43%. Last year’s achievements included:
-Company Milestones…
150% year-over-year growth in revenue for the third consecutive year
Nearly doubled the team from 60 members in 2019 to 115 members in 2020 and continues to grow further
Product Milestones
More than doubled its user base from 250,000 in 2019 to 600,000 in 2020
Launched five new products, including CES Innovation Awards 2021 Honoree Tacto, as well as new gaming kits for Plugo and new globes for hallmark product Orboot
Developed and launched Parent Hub, a one-stop skill set and development tracking app for parents. This comprehensive tool maps 20-plus skills for ages 3 to 11, assesses progress to create unique learning curves for children, and shows creative ideas and products to build skills.
“We are proud of our team for their incredible achievements during the pandemic while working remotely for an entire year. The effort translated into a successful Series B to help take the brand to new heights in 2021 and beyond,” said co-founder and CEO Vivek Goyal. “With screen time for children ages 4 to 9 averaging as high as five hours per day, we have a responsibility to help kids develop their early-learning skills in this digital age. Our products offer rich and variable content that engages children ten times better than the top 25 apps worldwide. We plan to expand our product range from 12 to 30 products to cover over 20 early-learning skills by 2022.” PlayShifu has also grown its online and retail presence immensely. Due to several new global brick-and-mortar and e-commerce partnerships, the brand is now available in 35 countries, a rapid expansion from just 15 countries in 2019.
“As we continue to introduce new products to further the development of early-learning skills in Generation Alpha, we’ve partnered with several reputable retailers around the world to diversify our reach,” said PlayShifu co-founder Dinesh Advani. “Following our extremely successful partnerships with Walmart’s Sam’s Club, Toys‘R’Us, Hamleys, and many more, we’re excited to team up with more retailers worldwide in 2021 and beyond to help kids build foundational, STEAM skills through our fun toys.” For more information on PlayShifu and to stay up to date on company news and product launches, visit PlayShifu.com and follow PlayShifu on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.