Marshmallow Games Secures €2 Million Investment to Strengthen Internationalization and Development of New Apps Dedicated to Preschool Age

CDP Venture Capital and Sì Social Impact invest in the edtech company

MILAN, June 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Marshmallow Games, an edtech company that creates and distributes educational apps for children worldwide, has completed a €2 million investment, led by CDP Venture Capital SGR, through the Italia Venture II Fund - Fondo Imprese Sud, together with the impact investing fund Sefea Impact SGR.

This operation will allow the global development of the company to become the point of reference for the educational entertainment sector in the preschool range, a market that is worth 9.5 billion dollars, with a growth rate (CAGR) of 17% in the last 10 years (source: Blinc Invest).

Marshmallow Games, founded in 2014 by Cristina Angelillo (CEO), Massimo Michetti (COO), Marianna Pappalardi (Creative Director) and Francesco Capozzi (CTO), represents excellence in the international edtech scene.

"We are proud of this important step. It rewards the work done in recent years and represents a first step to grow globally, from the point of view of the user base and access to networks of international investors for future growth phases. More than a point of arrival, today is a new departure," comments Cristina Angelillo, CEO and co-founder of Marshmallow Games.

In recent years, the company has launched over 20 apps on the market that have exceeded 2 million downloads on a global scale - the USA and China are the two reference markets - and reached top places in rankings in the kids category in over 150 countries. Thanks to its proprietary technology and high quality content, it has won prestigious awards from international associations of parents and educators, including the Educational App Store and Mom's Choice Award.

"Marshmallow Games is one of the most promising companies in Italy in the sector of educational technologies applied to children and we are proud to be able to contribute to its development plans," comments Francesca Ottier, Head of Fondo Italia Venture II - Fondo Imprese Sud of CDP Venture Capital SGR.

"We are really happy to be able to start this adventure with Marshmallow Games," says the President of Sefea Impact, Massimo Giusti, "because we firmly believe that its founders have solved a very important social problem: the incorrect use of digital technology by the youngest ones."

With the investment injection that has just ended, the value of capital raised over the years by Marshmallow Games has risen to €3.5 million.

The investment will further push the company's flagship product, Smart Tales. The app is the only collection of interactive stories to teach children (3-6 years) STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and raise awareness of social issues and healthy habits. With hundreds of thousands of downloads worldwide and available in 5 languages (Italian, Spanish, English, French and German), Smart Tales is constantly recommended on the App Store and has been "App of the day" in over 50 countries. In Italy it was chosen by Unicef for charitable initiatives and to raise awareness among children about children's rights.

A new product ZenCreate will also be launched, which allows users to create apps, interactive books, advergames without technical skills. ZenCreate is part of the no-code tool market, which is in constant development: it will reach 187 billion dollars in 2030 and will affect 65% of the applications created in the next 5 years.

Finally, a hiring plan will be launched that will bring the team from 19 to over 30 employees in the next 12 months.

http://www.marshmallow-games.com/
https://smarttales.app/
https://zencreate.io/

Contact:
Roberto Attolico
+393921725521
[email protected]

SOURCE Marshmallow Games