Education technology is revolutionizing the way children learn to read and comprehend language. Ello, a pioneering AI reading coach startup, has recently raised $15 million as part of its Series A financing round, led by Goodwater Capital and backed by Homebrew, Reed Hastings, Common Sense Growth, Ravensburger, Project A, Y Combinator, WndrCo, Reach Capital, Visible Ventures, and Khosla Ventures.
Co-founded by Dr. Elizabeth Adams, Tom Sayer and Catalin Voss in 2019, Ello provides a subscription-based service that combines AI technology with expert reading specialists to deliver personalized 1:1 tutoring to children. Its proprietary speech recognition technology monitors a student’s reading and provides feedback on mispronunciations and missed words.
Tom Sayer, Ello’s Co-founder and CEO, said: “Elizabeth, Catalin and I have all come to Ello through our journeys, but we share a belief that reading is the key to education in the information age and are driven by the mission to provide high-quality literacy education to all children, regardless of their resources.”
Ello’s user base currently stands at 10,000 families and its AI-based reading coach has enabled children to read over 300,000 books. The startup has plans to partner with schools and expand its offerings to different languages. Ello is currently running pilot programs with approximately 30 schools in San Francisco and New York.
Commenting on the investment, Coddy Johnson, Partner of Goodwater Capital said: “Ello is tackling the issue of child literacy head on, leveraging AI to solve the reading challenges kids face, through a fun, engaging 1:1 reading coach.”
Teachers and parents can now use Ello’s AI-based reading coach to help children catch up on basic reading skills and cultivate a love for reading. The startup’s successful funding round will help it expand user access and improve its product, making education more accessible for all.
