Imagi secures $4.5 million seed to scale K-12 AI coding education
Founded by Dora Palfi and Beatrice Ionascu, the company reports reaching 700,000 learners globally and will use new capital to expand district sales and launch a new platform next month.
Edtech platform Imagi has closed a $4.5 million seed funding round to accelerate the deployment of its coding and artificial intelligence literacy tools for K-12 students. The investment round includes participation from Brighteye Ventures, Day One Capital, and artist Wil.i.am. The company, which was founded in 2018 by Dora Palfi and Beatrice Ionascu, also secured $1 million in credits from OpenAI to support its educational initiatives.
The platform has established a partnership with Lovable, a 'vibe coding' tool, to provide students with controlled access to AI development environments. This collaboration allows teachers to create lessons and monitor student activity within a secure framework. Palfi, whose background includes a family of educators, stated that the system is designed to teach children to build with AI rather than passively consume it, addressing the growing need for digital skills in future job markets.
To ensure compliance with strict privacy standards, Imagi adheres to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), and the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The platform maintains zero data retention and does not train partners on student data. Every prompt and response generated within the system is screened, with any violations removed before reaching the student.
Since its launch, Imagi reports having worked with more than 700,000 students across 140 countries. The company highlighted several student outcomes resulting from the partnership, including a teacher who developed an app to translate curriculum into 15 languages, a graduate who created a digital wardrobe application named Alta, and a student who built a website for a lawn-mowing business with integrated booking functionality.
The fresh capital will be directed toward scaling operations into additional K-12 schools, investing in district sales and hiring, and developing new product features. Imagi plans to launch a new platform next month, further expanding its capacity to train educators in using AI and computational tools confidently within the classroom.
