Copenhagen’s parent-teacher collaboration platform Famly raises $18 million

Meeting parents’ expectations of transparency in the education of care of their preschool children, Copenhagen-based Famly has raised $18 million in a Series A funding round. By providing a social media news feed style interface, doting parents can keep abreast of their child’s everyday activities. The new capital is slated to double the startups’ headcount, expand its product-market fit in new markets, and foster new partners and integrations across the platform. To date, Famly has raised $21.1 million.

Founded in 2015 by Anders Laustsen and Henrik Møller Rasmussen, Famly currently counts some 3,500 early education centres as clients, spread across the UK, Germany, Scandinavia, and the US.

Not solely a what’s-my-kid-up-to solution, Famly also facilitates a direct line of communication between teachers and parents, thereby providing an effective means of continuing education opportunities beyond the classroom.

Likewise, the service aims to save educators hours of administrative work by making the payments of tuition faster and easier for parents and removing the potential of having to chase these payments a thing of the past. Now add in a host of HR-related features including everything from the availability of care and financial reports to staff shifts and registers, and educators are now freed to do what they do best: educate and inspire.

“We have a responsibility to support teachers with better tools, and to make sure they no longer simply keep parents ‘up to date’ with forgotten scrapbooks and email newsletters sent straight to spam,” explains Lausten. “That’s why my favorite image of Famly is a blank tablet, screen off, job done, and a teacher back doing the important work with children. Our mission from day one has been to help educators give their very best to their children every day and we will use this funding to help more educators do just that.”

The startup is certainly not alone in the sector, however, as just this past August, Poland’s LiveKid, which offers a number of competing features, raised $2.4 million and is targeting similar geographies with its offer.

Famly’s $18 million Series A round was led by Susquehanna Growth Equity (SGE), who join existing investors including the Zendesk founder Alexander Aghassipour, and Just Eat’s ex-CEO and TechBBQ co-founder Klaus Nyengaard.