Series B28 January 2019

Firefly raises £5m from Downing Ventures, BGF and Beringea to fund expansion

The funding round was led by Downing Ventures with participation from existing investors BGF and Beringea.

£5.0MSeries B

Firefly develops a suite of learning tools used by schools across forty countries to connect teachers, students and parents. The platform helps reduce administrative burdens while facilitating homework management and lesson planning.

Firefly has secured £5m in funding led by Downing Ventures, with additional participation from existing backers BGF and Beringea. The business intends to direct the capital towards research and development, international expansion, and team growth over the coming year.

Founded originally by school friends while preparing for GCSE exams, the platform now supports over a million users and holds a strong market position in UK independent schools. This transaction marks the second investment round for the company, bringing its total capital raised to nearly £10m.

The fresh injection of funds will support the business through its next phase of scaling as demand for education technology continues to rise. Leadership aims to introduce new tools that save time for teaching staff and provide real-time progress tracking for families.

From the founder

"At Firefly, our ambition is to supercharge the school experience, so every student can reach their potential. This investment will enable us to move more quickly towards empowering teachers, students and parents, adding to the hundreds of thousands using the tool every day."

Simon Hay

Co-founder at Firefly

Investor perspective

"The EdTech sector is an exciting but challenging place. On the one hand, it can be highly competitive, with the UK spending an estimated £1 billion on EdTech. However, at the same time, it’s also a very fragmented market. Firefly’s relentless focus on developing products that can make a tangible difference for teachers, students and parents has secured them a market-leading position among UK Independent schools."

James Lewis

Investment Director, Downing Ventures