As if we didn't already know that the edtech scene in the D.C. area is booming, a Cockeysville, Maryland startup just proved once again that new academically-focused businesses are finding promising financial success in the region.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt acquired Curiosityville – the maker of animated video games offering brain-boosting math and literacy acticities to young children between the ages of three and eight – this week, for an undisclosed price. The giant global educational and trade publisher headquartered in Boston plans to strengthen its early childhood education offering with Curiosityville's enthralling games, activities and lovable characters.
“Curiosityville fits perfectly with our mission and commitment to cultivating curiosity and a passion for learning in young children,” said Linda Zecher, President and CEO of HMH in a press release. “We place enormous value in the impact of early childhood education, both at home and in pre-school settings, and believe that the incorporation of Curiosityville into our own robust offering for young learners will enable us to deliver a unique, engaging, research-based solution to parents and educators alike."
The Maryland startup could prove to be a great asset for HMH, which plans on taking advantage of the business' proprietary data collection and analytics engine, the Learning Tree. The system collects real-time information on individual learners, helping to personalize recommendations for studying both on Curiosityville and offline.
Susan Magsamen, founder and CEO of the newly acquired edtech startup, says “Curiosityville was created to bring together a collaborative and interactive community of families, educators and experts in the field of early learning."
With HMH on her side, Magsamen has high hopes for Curiosityville. She believes the company will continue to progress and make the learning process easier for young students all around the world, especially now that Curiosityville has access to the more than 100 countries HMH reaches.
While this will go down in the books as a milestone for the the startup built upon evidence-based research about child development and critical learning periods, Curiosityville has found plenty of success in the past.
On December 1, 2011, Curiosityville raised $415k in venture funding. Then, more recently on September 20, 2013, Curiosityville secured $380k in debt financing. Curiosityville also reportedly began raising $5 million in Series A funding in February to hire more staff and develop a smartphone application.
