San Francisco and Bengaluru-based Playshifu, which makes augmented reality-based educational toys for kids, has secured $7 million in Series A funding round led by Chiratae, Inventus Capital and Bharat Innovation Fund. The round has also seen participation from existing investor IDFC-Parampara Fund.
The fresh capital will be used by the company towards tech innovation, research on unique phygital interactions and new product developments. Playshifu also plans to utilize funds to expand its presence from 15 countries to more than 30 countries in 2020 and beyond.
Founded by Dinesh Advani and Vivek Goyal in 2016, Playshifu’s flagship product ‘Shifu Orboot’ is an AR-based interactive globe that allows kids to scan the icons on the globe through an iOS or an Android device and read highlights of that region.
Dinesh Advani, Co-Founder and COO, Playshifu, said, “We now have the tools at our disposal to execute against an even more impactful retail strategy and presence, while we continue to strengthen our position as the segment leader and disruptor in the early learning space. We are experiencing incredible demand from international markets across the world, purely due to the reason that our products make early learning agnostic to markets and languages.”
Karthik Prabhakar, Executive Director at Chiratae, stated, “PlayShifu is targeting the multi-billion dollar augmented reality industry with its unique proposition of an enriching learning environment for kids coupled with fun. Vivek and Dinesh, along with their team, have built a solid product roadmap to capture a significant market share in this segment in the US and European regions.”
