It All Adds Up: Matific Raises $45M To Make Math Fun For Kids

“Mathematics should be fun,” British mathematician Peter J. Hilton used to say. Israeli educational game-maker Matific couldn’t agree more.

Matific is a series of math video games developed by Slate Science. The company produces learning games in math and science for kids between preschool and elementary school. Matific uses software that develops individualized games automatically, suiting it for the player’s skill level.

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According to the startup, its videos are played 2.5 million times each month, mostly within the US.

Matific. Courtesy

Can you count to 45 – million?

Hoping to expand its reach beyond the twenty countries where it already has a presence, the company recently announced the closing of a $45 million Series B funding round. The funding round was led by Australian entrepreneur Leon Kamenev and brings the company’s total funding to $57 million, after securing a $12 million round in 2015.

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Bite-sized learning

Matific takes a unique approach to teaching K to 6 math using hands-on and interactive mini-games, called episodes. These immersive bite-sized apps for tablets and personal computers are based on a modular and progressive spiral learning system. The Matific approach was designed to provide optimal support for educators to convey math concepts in as effective and engaging manner as possible. Matific episodes enable a blended learning approach. Having selected the relevant episodes, teachers can seamlessly integrate hands-on math explorations into their own class learning format.

Focus on fun – for all

Combining machine learning, data mining and automatic content generation, the company created a set of products that make the learning experience fun, interactive and creative. The products can be customized for each child and for different school curricula — and enable students across the world access to superior math education tools at an affordable cost, with free distribution for remote areas.

Matific. Courtesy

Slate Science was founded 2011, and the Matific website and apps were launched in late 2014. Matific was founded by Prof. Raz Kupferman, an expert on math education and a former head of the Einstein Institute of Math at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Prof. Shimon Shocken, the founding dean of the EFI Arazi school of computer science at the IDC School in Herzliya; Shmulik London, a computer science expert; and Guy Vardi, a former executive at Oberon and a thought leader in the gaming industry.

With its research and development and its global operations based in Israel, the company has sales offices in the US, Australia, Canada, South America, UK, and South Africa. Its R&D center in Israel includes specialized game design teams that provide both mentorship and hands-on experience for computer science students and graduates. According to the company, the current investment will provide Matific with even more growth opportunities and allows them to expand their R&D center and global sales team.

Hands-on learning

“Matific appeals to children’s love of playing games,” Slate Science CEO Guy Vardi said in a statement. “By making math interactive and hands-on, children learn the important fundamentals and enjoy the process of learning more.”

Photos and video: Matific