Storypod raises $4M seed round to fuel growth of its screen-free edutainment for children

Storypod, creator of an interactive audio player that provides parents with a healthy alternative to screens for educating and entertaining their kids, announced today that the Miami-based startup has raised $4 million in a seed funding round led by Infinitas Capital, a European family office, with participation from angel investors.

Part of an entire IoT system, the Storypod’s wifi-connected NFC player can be activated when the child selects one of Storypod’s lovable “Craftie” yarn toys and attaches it magnetically to the player to unlock a particular type of content – music, nursery rhymes, games and more.  Built for kids up to age 10, the player can also be activated by read-along books and interactive flash cards that play original and licensed songs, stories, podcasts, learning topics and games.

Daniel Buelhoff founded the Miami-based startup in 2019 and  spent a year of researching, building a team and developing the IoT system. Amid the pandemic, Buelhoff and his team launched a successful Kickstarter campaign and began delivering pre-orders in March 2021. Despite Covid-related supply chain issues, Storypod has achieved double-digit month-over-month growth and hit 7-figure revenue in seven months, said Buelhoff, Storypod’s CEO.

Storypod plans to use the funds to build out its team, product lines, and content library, Buelhoff said.

“These funds are just the beginning of an ambitious vision to create more than a scaling and profitable company. We ultimately aim to ignite children’s love of learning through screen-free, stage-based, interactive audio edutainment,” Buelhoff said.

Storypod is a 7-person team now, but Buelhoff aims to grow the company to 30 people in the next few months. That’s because of brisk sales as well as multiple new licenses that Storypod has secured, he said. One of Storypod’s first licensing deals was with Fred Rogers Productions’ Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood  for a product line based on the animated preschool show airing on PBS Kids.

Storypod’s new investors believe Storypod will become a household name for screen-conscious parents because of its interactive and system-based approach and visionary team.

“After the great success of screenless audio players in children’s rooms in Europe, Infinitas found Storypod to be by far the most promising candidate for this product category for the US market,” said Thorsten Schroeder, an Infinitas Venture Partner who has joined Storypod’s board.  

The new funding adds to the $2 million in angel capital that Storypod raised in 2021.

Follow @ndahlberg on Twitter and email Nancy Dahlberg at [email protected]

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