Finnish VC fund Gorilla Capital has invested in Tampere-based educational games studio BeiZ to further the development of its Lola Panda educational apps.

As reported by AIN.Capital, the learning apps are designed for children in preschool and early education.

The Lola Panda apps, which have been downloaded more than 40 million times to date, are available in 10 languages and help kids learn to read, count and solve problems. BeiZ aims to use the investment to extend the app to new regions and languages.

The investment figure was not disclosed.

“Big global problem”

"Learning to read is a challenge, even in countries with a high level of education,” said BeiZ founder Mika Heikinheimo.

“For example, in the United States, only 32% of fourth-grade children can read well. The learning model of Lola Panda applications has been adapted to suit different language areas based on learnings from previous Lola Panda applications.

“Lola Panda's reading apps have been available in 10 languages for years, so the company has been able to develop a solution to this big, global problem.”

Gorilla Capital founding partner Risto Rautakorpi added: "Knowing how to read is one of the most important skills that everyone should acquire at some point. The market is growing at a fast pace, but even in several large markets there is a lack of professional reading learning applications.

“Lola World learning application is in the early stages of the development path, but it is already one of the best solutions and it has already helped thousands of children to read. Now the company must deliver on its promise and offer even larger language areas the most fun way to learn to read.”

This article is part of our Road to Helsinki series, where we put the spotlight on the Finnish and Nordic games industries ahead of Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki on October 1st and 2nd.