Ex-Google Trio Develops Interactive AI Learning App for Children

Major tech corporations and emerging startups are leveraging generative AI to develop software and hardware for children. Many of these experiences are confined to text or voice interactions, which may not fully engage young users. Three former Google employees aim to overcome this limitation with Sparkli, their generative AI-driven interactive app.

Sparkli was established last year by Lax Poojary, Lucie Marchand, and Myn Kang. As parents, Poojary and Kang found it challenging to address their children's curiosity or provide compelling answers to their questions.

"Children are naturally inquisitive. My son would ask me how cars operate or why it rains. I tried using ChatGPT or Gemini to explain these concepts to a six-year-old, but the result was still a block of text. Kids crave interactive engagement. That insight became the foundation for creating Sparkli," Poojary explained to TechCrunch during a call.

Before launching Sparkli, Poojary and Kang co-founded Touring Bird, a travel aggregator, and Shoploop, a video-centric social commerce app, through Google's Area 120 internal startup incubator. Poojary subsequently contributed to shopping initiatives at Google and YouTube. Marchand, Sparkli's CTO, also co-founded Shoploop and later worked at Google.

"If a child asked what Mars looked like fifty years ago, we might have shown them a photograph," noted Poojary. "A decade ago, we might have used a video. With Sparkli, we want children to interact with and experience Mars firsthand."

The startup observed that education systems often lag in teaching contemporary subjects. Sparkli addresses this by creating AI-powered learning "expeditions" that cover modern topics like design skills, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship.

The application enables users to explore predefined topics across various categories or create personalized learning paths by asking their own questions. It features a daily highlighted topic to introduce children to new concepts. Children can either listen to generated audio narration or read the text. Each topic includes a blend of audio, video, images, quizzes, and games. The app also generates interactive choose-your-own-adventure experiences that eliminate the pressure of right or wrong answers.

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Poojary highlighted that the startup utilizes generative AI to dynamically produce all media assets. The platform can generate a complete learning experience within two minutes of a user's query and is working to reduce this response time further.

The startup emphasized that while AI assistants can support learning, their primary focus isn't educational. To ensure effectiveness, Sparkli's first two hires included a PhD specialist in educational science and AI, along with a practicing teacher. This strategic decision ensures content development aligns with pedagogical principles and effectively serves young learners.

Child safety represents a critical concern in AI applications. Companies including OpenAI and Character.ai face legal actions from parents who claim these platforms encouraged self-harm among children. Sparkli stated that while explicitly banning sexual content, when children inquire about sensitive topics like self-harm, the app focuses on developing emotional intelligence and encourages discussions with parents.

The company is currently piloting its application with an educational institution network serving over 100,000 students. Targeting children aged 5-12, Sparkli conducted product testing in more than 20 schools last year.

Sparkli has developed a teacher dashboard that enables educators to monitor student progress and assign homework. Inspired by Duolingo's engagement model, the app incorporates streaks and rewards for consistent lesson completion. It also provides quest cards, tailored to each child's initial avatar configuration, to encourage exploration of diverse subjects.

"Our school pilots have generated highly positive feedback. Teachers frequently use Sparkli to create expeditions that students explore at the beginning of class, leading to discussion-based learning. Some educators also use it to assign follow-up activities after explaining a topic, allowing children to deepen their understanding through exploration," Poojary shared.

While initially focusing on global school partnerships for the coming months, Sparkli plans to launch consumer access, enabling parents to download the app by mid-2026.

The company secured $5 million in pre-seed funding led by Swiss venture firm Founderful, marking the firm's first dedicated edtech investment. Founderful's founding partner, Lukas Wender, cited the team's technical expertise and market potential as key factors in the investment decision.

"As a father of two school-aged children, I see them learning conventional subjects but missing crucial topics like financial literacy or technological innovation. From a product perspective, Sparkli offers an immersive learning alternative that moves beyond video games," Wender commented.