Sparkli: Former Google trio raises $5 million for child-friendly AI learning platform
Many digital learning tools for children offer only limited options for exploring complex ideas in engaging and age-appropriate formats. Sparkli addresses this gap. The platform uses multimodal AI and enables children between 5 and 12 years old to create interactive learning experiences. Questions are transformed into multidisciplinary, practice-oriented learning journeys designed to promote areas such as technology, sustainability, financial literacy, and global awareness.
Founders with Google Background
Sparkli was founded in 2025 by Lax Poojary, Lucie Marchand, and Mynseok Kang. Previously, Poojary and Kang built a travel platform called Touring Bird together, which was acquired by Google in 2018. With the help of Area 120, Google’s internal startup incubator, came the video-based social commerce app Shoploop. Poojary later worked at Google and YouTube in the shopping division. Sparkli CTO Lucie Marchand also worked at Google.
“Kids, by definition, are very curious, and my son would ask me questions about how cars work or how it rains. My approach was to use ChatGPT or Gemini to explain these concepts to a six-year-old, but that is still a wall of text. What kids want is an interactive experience. This was our core process behind founding Sparkli”, Poojary told TechCrunch.
Three Shifts in the Learning Process
Sparkli’s approach focuses on three changes in children’s learning behavior: the shift from static curricula to real-time exploration, the replacement of passive content with interactive and multimodal experiences, and the prioritization of creativity and problem-solving over rote memorization.
An interest and knowledge profile is created for each child, enabling personalized and adaptive learning over time. CEO Lax Poojary explains: “Our goal is to build agency in the next generation. Sparkli is designed to turn screen time into an environment where curiosity and independent thinking can develop”
Pilot Program with 100,000 Students
The fresh capital flows into scaling Sparkli’s generative learning engine and preparing for the private beta launch. The platform is currently being validated through a pilot program that provides access to a network of more than 100 international schools and over 100,000 students.
