Major tech companies and emerging startups are leveraging generative AI to develop software and hardware for children. Many of these offerings are restricted to text or voice interactions, which may not fully engage young users. Three former Google employees aim to overcome this limitation with their interactive, generative AI-powered app, Sparkli.
Sparkli, an app, was established last year by Lax Poojary, Lucie Marchand, and Myn Kang. As parents, Poojary and Kang found it challenging to fully satisfy their children’s curiosity or provide sufficiently engaging answers to their questions.
Poojary explained to TechCrunch that children are inherently curious, often asking about topics like how cars function or why it rains. While tools like ChatGPT or Gemini can explain these concepts, the output often remains a block of text. The founders recognized that children desire an interactive experience, which became the foundational idea for Sparkli.
Image Credits:Sparkli
Prior to launching Sparkli, Poojary and Kang co-founded a travel aggregator called Touring Bird and a video-focused social commerce app, Shoploop, at Google’s Area 120, the company’s internal startup incubator. Poojary later went on to work at Google and YouTube on shopping. Marchand, who is the CTO of Sparkli, was also one of the co-founders of Shoploop and later worked at Google.
Poojary noted that if a child asked about Mars fifty years ago, a picture might have been shown. Ten years ago, a video could have been used. With Sparkli, the aim is for children to interact with and experience what Mars is like.
The startup suggests that traditional education systems frequently lag in teaching contemporary concepts. Sparkli seeks to educate children on subjects such as skills design, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship through AI-powered learning ‘expeditions.’
The app lets users explore some predefined topics in different categories or ask their own questions to create a learning path. The app also highlights one new topic every day to let kids learn something new. Kids can either listen to the generated voice or read the text. Chapters under one topic include a mix of audio, video, images, quizzes, and games. The app also creates choose-as-you-go adventures that don’t create the pressure of getting questions right or wrong.
Image Credits:Sparkli
Poojary stated that the startup leverages generative AI to dynamically create all its media assets. The company is capable of generating a learning experience within two minutes of a user’s query and is working to further decrease this duration.
The startup indicated that while AI assistants can aid children in learning specific topics, their primary focus is not education. To ensure the product’s effectiveness, the first two hires included a PhD holder in educational science and AI, and a teacher. This strategic choice was made to guarantee that the content effectively serves children, adhering to pedagogical principles.
A significant concern regarding children’s use of AI is safety. Companies such as OpenAI and Character.ai have faced lawsuits from parents claiming these tools encouraged their children toward self-harm. Sparkli has stated that while topics like sexual content are entirely prohibited on the app, if a child inquires about subjects like self-harm, the app aims to educate them on emotional intelligence and prompts them to speak with their parents.
The company is currently piloting its app with an institute that oversees a network of schools serving over 100,000 students. The target audience is children aged 5-12, and the product was tested in more than 20 schools last year.
Sparkli has also developed a teacher module, enabling educators to monitor progress and assign homework. The company drew inspiration from Duolingo to create an app engaging enough to encourage consistent learning. The app incorporates streaks and rewards for children who complete lessons regularly. It also provides quest cards, customized based on the user’s initial setup, for exploring various topics.
Poojary reported a very positive response from the school pilots. Teachers frequently utilize Sparkli to develop expeditions that children can explore at the beginning of class, transitioning into a discussion-based format. Some educators also used it to create homework after explaining a topic, allowing children to delve deeper and assess their comprehension.
While the startup intends to primarily collaborate with schools globally for the coming months, it plans to offer consumer access, allowing parents to download the app by mid-2026.
The company secured $5 million in pre-seed funding, led by the Swiss venture firm Founderful. Sparkli represents Founderful’s initial pure-play edtech investment. Lukas Weder, the firm’s founding partner, cited the team’s technical expertise and the market opportunity as factors influencing his investment in the startup.
“As a father of two kids who are in school now, I see them learning interesting stuff, but they don’t learn topics like financial literacy or innovation in technology. I thought from a product point of view, Sparkli gets them away from video games and lets them learn stuff in an immersive way,” Weder said.
This post was first published on January 22, 2026.
