Fingerprint builds and curates mobile apps and digital content for young children, offering originals, licensed titles (e.g., Caillou, VeggieTales) and partner apps integrated with its SDK. Its SDK gives parents tools to track learning progress and lets apps join Fingerprint’s network to surface relevant titles to children. The company also runs custom networks for partners including Samsung (KidsTime), Sylvan Learning (SylvanPlay) and Astro (AstroPlay), and is building a network for Cricket Media. Fingerprint currently offers about 250 apps across its networks and expects to have over 600 apps, 50 e-books and additional video services by December. Revenues have grown tenfold in under two years, and its network reaches around 3 million users who download on average 2.5 games each. The team of roughly 26 people includes executives with backgrounds at Leapfrog, PlayFirst, Disney and other children’s content and gaming companies. Fingerprint Digital is a San Francisco mobile gaming startup focused on educational apps for children, operating a platform of curated kids content. The company develops about one third of the apps internally and provides an SDK for third-party developers to integrate features like parent-child in-app communication and progress tracking. It currently offers 14 apps, works with six external development partners, and reports over 25 million minutes of total playtime; its top title, Big Kid Firefighter, has been played by a quarter of kids over 50 times. Fingerprint is building kid-first engagement features that will include a shared rewards system, a loyalty program for earning free apps, and a cross-property in-app currency, with additional product news expected in four to six weeks. The company expects to ship eight more apps by year-end and at least four more next year. Leadership includes CEO Nancy MacIntyre, formerly EVP of Products and Marketing at LeapFrog. Financially, Fingerprint has previously raised a $1.4M seed and a bridge round, bringing total funding to date to $7.75M. Fingerprint Digital builds educational mobile games for children and integrates a built-in parent-child sharing platform called “Mom-Comm” that lets parents view progress and send text/voice encouragement. The company released its first apps to iTunes on December 1 and already has five apps live, including three “Big Kid Life” titles, Play Maker, and a third-party Do Re Mi 1-2-3 that uses its SDK. Early traction metrics include over 270,000 game sessions, more than 2 million minutes played, 500,000 snapshot reports in December, average sessions of 7.35 minutes, and users returning about four times in a month. Fingerprint offers an SDK that allows third-party titles to integrate the Mom-Comm system for free in exchange for revenue share, with the company vetting titles for educational quality. The team includes founders Nancy MacIntyre and Brad Edelman and senior hires from LeapFrog, PlayFirst, Everloop, and 2K Games. The company is currently giving away apps as part of a Facebook promotion and says it plans to release several new apps next quarter, including what it calls its “biggest product initiative” and an “all new app experience.”

Total raised

$12M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Series B

Latest activity

Jun 2014