Osmo raises $12 million to turn iPads into educational tools for kids

Today Osmo, the physical iPad add-on with educational games, announced Apple as a retail partner with the product now available for purchase. This, along with critical acclaim and $12 million in funding, set the scene for Osmo to go mass market. The Series A Round funding was led by investor Accel Partners with other investors including Upfront Ventures and K9 Ventures. As part of the investment, Accel Partners’ Rich Wong will join the company’s board of directors. Accel Partners has invested in other companies now household names, Supercell, Rovio, Playfish, and SwiftKey to name a few.

Osmo is a small company that wants to start a “Play Movement,” or change the way that kids interact and socialize with electronic devices. Now the maker of the innovative Osmo platform for social and educational iPad games has $12 million to help do so. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company is announcing the first round of funding today, led by venture capital firm Accel Partners. It’s also revealing that its Osmo product will be available for purchase in Apple stores in the U.S. and Canada starting Oct. 16. Rich Wong, a partner at Accel, will join Osmo’s board of directors. The firm has invested in companies such as superstar mobile publisher Supercell (Clash of Clans), Rovio (Angry Birds), AdMob, and Facebook. “We have a really solid product, and now it’s time for us to grow,” said Osmo chief executive Pramod Sharma in an interview with GamesBeat. “We are set to scale the product, and I expect us to grow significantly.”