Ex-Googlers launch AI learning app captivating young minds

Major tech firms and innovative startups see generative AI as a key tool for developing kid-friendly software and hardware. However, many existing solutions rely solely on text or voice, which can fail to hold a child's attention. A team of ex-Googlers aims to solve this with Sparkli, an interactive app powered by generative AI.

Sparkli was established last year by co-founders Lax Poojary, Lucie Marchand, and Myn Kang. As parents themselves, Poojary and Kang often struggled to provide satisfying and engaging answers to their children's endless questions.

"Children are naturally curious. My son would ask me how cars work or why it rains," Poojary explained to TechCrunch. "I'd turn to ChatGPT or Gemini to explain things in simple terms for a six-year-old, but the result was still just a block of text. Kids crave an interactive experience. That insight was the foundation for Sparkli."

Before launching Sparkli, Poojary and Kang co-founded Touring Bird, a travel aggregator, and Shoploop, a video-driven social commerce app, within Google's in-house incubator, Area 120. Poojary later held roles focused on shopping at Google and YouTube. CTO Lucie Marchand was also a co-founder of Shoploop and has a background at Google.

"If a child asked what Mars was like fifty years ago, we might have shown them a picture," Poojary said. "Ten years ago, perhaps a video. With Sparkli, we want kids to interact with and experience what Mars is like firsthand."

The startup points out that traditional education systems often lag in teaching contemporary subjects. Sparkli addresses this by creating AI-powered learning "expeditions" on topics like product design, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship.

The app allows users to explore predefined topics across various categories or ask their own questions to generate a custom learning path. A "Topic of the Day" feature introduces a new subject daily. Children can listen to AI-generated narration or read the text. Each topic includes a mix of audio, video, images, quizzes, and games. The app also offers choose-your-own-adventure style journeys that remove the pressure of right or wrong answers.

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Poojary noted that Sparkli uses generative AI to instantly create all its media assets. The platform can generate a complete learning experience within two minutes of a query and aims to shorten that time even further.

While general AI assistants can aid learning, Sparkli emphasizes their primary focus isn't education. To ensure effectiveness, the company's first two hires were a PhD in educational science and AI, and a seasoned teacher. This deliberate choice ensures content is pedagogically sound and truly serves children's learning needs.

Child safety is a paramount concern with AI. In light of lawsuits against other AI companies over harmful content, Sparkli takes a proactive approach. The app completely bans certain topics, like sexual content. For sensitive questions about topics like self-harm, the app guides children toward emotional intelligence lessons and encourages them to speak with a parent or guardian.

Sparkli is currently piloting its app with an educational institute network encompassing over 100,000 students. Targeting children aged 5-12, the product was tested in more than 20 schools last year.

The company has also developed a teacher dashboard for tracking student progress and assigning homework. Inspired by apps like Duolingo, Sparkli incorporates streaks and rewards to encourage regular use and completion of lessons. Children also receive personalized "quest cards" based on their chosen avatar to motivate exploration of different subjects.

"Feedback from our school pilots has been extremely positive," Poojary shared. "Teachers use Sparkli to create expeditions that kick off classroom discussions. Some also use it to design follow-up homework, letting students dive deeper into a topic and allowing teachers to gauge comprehension."

While Sparkli plans to focus on partnering with schools worldwide in the coming months, it aims to launch a consumer version for direct download by parents by mid-2026.

The startup has 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 Weder, cited the team's technical expertise and the significant market opportunity as key factors.

"As a father of two school-aged children, I see them learning many things, but not always modern essentials like financial literacy or tech innovation," Weder commented. "From a product perspective, Sparkli offers a compelling alternative to video games, enabling immersive learning in a fun way."

This post was first published on January 22, 2026.