Chennai-based early childhood education company, Flinto Learning Solutions raises $7.2 million in Pre-Series B funding led by Lightbox Ventures. The fresh fund will be used to support its rapid growth in the early learning space and to expand its newly-launched preschool solution during the COVID-19 – Flintoclass@HOME. This new product will deliver hybrid preschool education to the doorstep, allowing children to learn from the safety of their homes.

Flinto is a 2013-founded company built to change the way children across the world learn and play. Its CEO & Co-Founder Arunprasad Durairaj says, “We don’t want COVID-19 to come in the way of a child’s learning. For children below six years of age, monotonous online classes can’t be a substitute for the multi-sensory experiences that they deserve. We wanted to ensure that children continue receiving structured hands-on learning without compromising on their safety. With our expertise in early childhood education over the past seven years and an already successful preschool model, we came up with Flintoclass@HOME – a blended preschool learning experience. Every month, parents receive at their doorstep an easy-to-use preschool kit with daily hands-on activities for children, along with pre-recorded interactive sessions with our educators. In less than a month,

By kindergarten, 90 percent of a child’s brain capacity develops, yet only 10-15 percent of the funding is allocated towards early learning, globally. The resources for early learning are sparse, and a curriculum with a child-centred pedagogy is rare

we have 3000 enrollments and it is very promising. We will be using the funds to create, expand and distribute this product across the world so that no child’s learning stops due to COVID-19.”

Flinto through its Flinto Early Learning Research Foundation, its R&D centre focusing on early childhood development for two-12 years old and has launched three products in the last seven years of its existence – Flintobox, Flintoclass, and Flintoclass@HOME. The uncertainties of COVID-19 and the closure of schools across the globe has opened up an opportunity for digital learning. But research shows that this digital learning could be detrimental to children below the age of six.

Prashant Mehta, Partner, Lightbox, explains, “By kindergarten, 90 percent of a child’s brain capacity develops, yet only 10-15 percent of the funding is allocated towards early learning, globally. The resources for early learning are sparse, and a curriculum with a child-centred pedagogy is rare. At Flinto, we see an opportunity to build a global leader in addressing the unique needs of early learning by co-creating products with children, parents and educators. We are excited to see that Flinto is becoming more relevant especially during the COVID-19 crisis when the primary place of learning and development is turning out to be home.”