Polymath secures $1M funding to expand adaptive math learning platform for home and school
Kid-tech startup Polymath has secured $1 million in funding to support its expansion into the US market. The funding round includes investment from ClassDojo CTO Liam Don and a venture-backed pre-seed raise co-led by Blackbird Ventures and GD1.
Polymath is a digital learning platform designed to integrate mathematics into an interactive gaming environment. The platform uses an adaptive learning algorithm to personalize content for students, with users reportedly engaging for an average of 30 minutes per session.
Investment and market growth
Liam Don, CTO and co-founder of ClassDojo, was an early investor in Polymath’s angel round. ClassDojo, an edtech company with over 50 million users, connects teachers and families through its platform.
Don stated:
"Most learning products only have notional educational value. This team has created a cutting-edge product that's already making a real impact. Their mission to transform education through tech that kids enjoy and a focus on meaningful learning outcomes is truly inspiring and sets a high bar for the future of products made for children."
Polymath’s approach
Polymath was founded by Sophie and Christian Silver with the goal of improving mathematics attainment. Sophie, who studied human learning at UCL, initially developed educational games for children, while Christian, a Cambridge Computer Science graduate, helped develop those ideas into a digital platform.
Sophie Silver, CEO and co-founder of Polymath, said:
"Polymath is kid-first. Our mission is to lift global education outcomes and we can't do that without enthusiasm from children. We're rebranding learning as exciting and developing a learning algorithm to simultaneously deliver results."
Polymath is designed for both classroom and home learning. The platform is free for teachers, allowing it to be incorporated into lesson plans. Schools in states such as Arizona, Virginia, Florida, Texas, and California have already adopted it.
Vignesh Kumar, Co-Managing Partner at GD1, added:
"GD1's investment in Polymath was driven by the team's clear user obsession. Their rapid iteration and deep engagement with teachers and parents demonstrated a commitment to creating a product kids genuinely love.
“This tenacity and strong commitment to drive learnings through understanding the early users was pivotal in enabling us to become early believers. We eagerly look forward to what Sophie, Christian and the team achieve over the coming years."
Game-based learning model
Polymath integrates gaming elements into its platform, using an adaptive algorithm to align challenges with students’ abilities. Features include collecting, building, and multiplayer interactions.
Phoebe Harrop, General Partner at Blackbird Ventures, said:
"Watching Christian and Sophie work, I was struck by their ability to iterate quickly, listen to user feedback, and build a game with strikingly long session times given it involved math! This is a scrappy team delivering a product that kids love, and parents love that their kids love."
With the latest funding, Polymath plans to continue its expansion in the US and introduce new features, including collaborative play. The platform is currently available to children in the US, UK, New Zealand, and Australia.
Christian Silver, CTO and co-founder of Polymath, said:
"We're constantly experimenting with new features in our game world. Trying a new character here, a new way to ask questions there. We're pushing new ideas out almost daily. The whole team, engineers included, work with real kids so we get immediate feedback on what's fun and what's not."
