EarlyBird Education, developer of the EarlyBird game-based early literacy assessment, has raised $3.5 million in funding, led by venture capital firm Lobby Capital. In addition, David Hornik, founding partner at Lobby Capital and founder of the Lobby Conferences, will join the EarlyBird Education Board of Directors.
The funding from Lobby Capital will be used to scale EarlyBird Education’s operations for rapid expansion into schools nationwide and to gather insights into the consumer market. The current funding round follows a successful round in early 2021 that raised $1.5 million to support EarlyBird’s commercial launch to schools. Those investors included Reach Capital, Amplify Capital, Flare Capital Partners, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Solve Innovation Future.
“We are excited to partner with Lobby Capital and to welcome David Hornik to the board,” said Carla Small, co-founder and CEO of EarlyBird Education. “David has spent the last 25 years helping entrepreneurs build transformative businesses. He is well known in the tech industry not only for his skills and talent as a highly successful venture capitalist, but also for his character and collaborative spirit. His support and expertise will be a tremendous asset as we work to help educators, clinicians, and parents identify and support children at risk for reading difficulties — in the window when intervention can re-wire the brain for reading success.”
Developed and scientifically validated at Boston Children’s Hospital in partnership with faculty at the Florida Center for Reading Research, EarlyBird brings together all the relevant predictors of reading in one easy-to-administer assessment. It helps educators identify and support children at risk for dyslexia and other reading difficulties — even before they learn to read.
“EarlyBird Education was founded by problem solvers who are focused on transforming children’s lives,” said Hornik. “Our team at Lobby Capital is looking forward to joining forces with them to help change early education for decades to come.”
About EarlyBird
EarlyBird transforms students’ lives through the early detection of reading difficulties, including dyslexia. The cloud-based technology platform includes a game-based screening assessment and dashboard that points teachers to customized action plans and evidence-based resources. With EarlyBird, educators can identify children at risk for reading difficulties in the window when intervention is most effective — before they formally learn to read. For information, visit https://earlybirdeducation.com/.
