Primary school-focused edtech bina raises $1.4 million

Berlin-based edtech bina has raised $1.4 million. The startup focuses on primary school education (ages 4-12) and aims to provide a personalised experience for every student. The new funding is expected to further expand the team as well as foster R&D efforts.

With an estimated 40 million teachers around the globe choosing to leave the profession, it’s estimated that an additional 24.4 million primary school teachers will be needed to achieve universal education. A number, which if you think back to those really outstanding educators you had an experience with, is going to be rather difficult to fill.

Looking to not only close this gap but provide a personalised education curriculum for every primary school student, bina is taking on the challenge with a unique approach. Their mandate includes a maximum of 6 students per class, a number 3x smaller than the OECD average, engaging with teachers that have a minimum of 8 years of digital teaching experience, and using data-driving learning pather that exceed international standards through a narrative approach.

"We gain an end-to-end understanding of students' and educators' development by curating and integrating pre-existing tools into one seamless schooling experience,” comments CEO and founder Noam Gerstein. “We gather data and analyze short- and long-term trends by monitoring patterned behaviour. This allows us to have an accurate view of what each student and educator know and can do.”

As part of its broader vision, bina plans on launching “bina-as-a-service” by 2024. The BaaS aims to partner with governments, NGOs and school systems, bypassing social, economic and geographic barriers in providing educational opportunities to some 58 million primary school aged children who remain underserved.

Bina’s $1.4 million funding round was led by Japanese billionaire Taizo Son’s Mistletoe. Parity Technologies founder Jutta Steiner also participated, and UK MP Lord Jim Knight is acting as the company's advisor.

Photo: Matteo Pablo Varisco