Sumdog nets £1.4m to expand reach of games-based learning

An Edinburgh-based education technology specialist has secured £1.4 million of funding to expand its services across the UK and US.

More than three million children in the UK and US used Sumdog's games-based system last year. Picture: Steven Brown

Sumdog said the cash injection, from Nesta Impact Investments and the Scottish Investment Bank (SIB), would also help to grow its headcount as it seeks to improve children’s maths and English learning.

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Last year, more than three million children in the UK and US used the firm’s games-based system, and the company now aims to have helped 15 million children across both countries by 2022.

The funding boost comes as Sumdog, founded in 1994, embarks on a major recruitment drive with plans to expand its headcount in Edinburgh and bolster its US presence with senior appointments at its New York office.

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Chief executive Andrew Hall said: “This is a really exciting time for Sumdog as we seek to expand our team to include the specialist skills we will need to achieve our future ambitions.

“As a high-impact company, our core mission is to close the educational attainment gap by helping all children reach their full potential. By capturing children’s imagination, Sumdog wants to become a world leader in online learning, starting with maths and English but ultimately covering a much broader range of subjects.”

He added: “This £1.4m investment will make a crucial contribution as we strive to meet our objective of helping 15 million children across the UK and the US over the next five years.”

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Ishaan Chilkoti, a member of the Nesta Impact Investments team, said: “We believe Sumdog has developed a proven platform for online learning.

“They have shown a clear commitment to achieving social impact and are already reaching large numbers of children from disadvantaged backgrounds, both here in the UK and in the US. We are excited to support them as they embark on ambitious plans for future growth.”

Sumdog enjoyed a 50 per cent increase in turnover last year and expects to build on “significant” growth in 2017. It is also working on plans to create an “immersive” 3D learning environment to capture the imaginations of children who may have become disenchanted with school and learning.

Kerry Sharp, head of the SIB, the investment arm of economic development agency Scottish Enterprise, said: “Our decision to provide growth funding to Sumdog was based on the company’s innovative approach, commitment to inclusion, international outlook and economic added value – all factors that Scottish businesses need to be able to thrive and grow in the future.

“Sumdog is another example of a strong, successful Scottish company to come out of Edinburgh’s tech business hub and is a huge endorsement for Scotland’s position as one of the leading tech hubs in the world. In addition to investment, Scottish Enterprise has been supporting the company through our account management team in areas such as innovation, R&D and international market development.”

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