OckyPocky, an interactive English learning app started by former YouTube India head Amit Agrawal, said on August 1 that it has raised an undisclosed amount in seed funding from Silicon Valley-based venture capital funds Good Water Capital and AngelList Quant Fund.
The startup plans to use the funds raised to grow its repository of content for a wider vernacular audience and improve its offerings. It also counts Udaan co-founder Sujeet Kumar and Hyderabad-headquartered SucSEED Innovation Fund among its investors.
Founded in 2017, OckyPocky aims to help preschool kids learn English through various interactive solutions including games and topics. It targets parents of small-town kids who face challenges with spoken English. It also offers live classes for kids in the 4-12 year age group.
The Gurugram-based startup says it uses natural language processing and artificial intelligence to provide real-time feedback to kids, thereby ensuring better learning outcomes.
"English is the biggest gatekeeper for admissions and jobs for the middle-class Bharat. Since its inception, OckyPocky has been on a mission to empower children and help them master English — with the right learning tools that can unlock unlimited future possibilities for them. When Silicon Valley big names decided to join hands in our journey, we felt thrilled about global validation of our mission" Agarwal said.
Abraham Othman, a senior researcher at AngelList Early-Stage Quant Fund said, "We’re thrilled to be investors in OckyPocky. We know from our data that their vital mission is attracting one of the most talented technical teams among Indian startups."
Tiger Global-backed Hello English is another startup in this space which also offers curated live English courses for kids through its product Hello Learner.
