SEATTLE, June 7, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Kadama, the largest educational social media brand and popular Gen-Z learning app, raised a $1.7 million seed round led by Grishin Robotics after impacting millions of students worldwide and reaching a peak App Store ranking of #2 under education. Kadama is breaking the stigma Gen-Z has towards learning. Students can earn rewards after learning with their friends, get instant homework and exam help, attend viral events, and engage with the massive 2 million student community Kadama has built across TikTok, Instagram, and their mobile app.

Kadama founders, from left: Marwan El-Rukby (co-founder and COO), Amin Shaykho (co-founder and CEO) and Dani Shaykho (co-founder and VP of Product Marketing). As Syrian Americans, the Kadama founders are directly involved with the educational challenges that refugees face. In addition to breaking the stigma that learning is boring, the Kadama team is committed to making eduction accessible to all students in need.

"Kadama helps students work through their homework problems. They have rewards, which is a great incentive and motivation for students. The way Kadama is promoted on TikTok/Instagram is really clever and honestly makes it even more fun."
- Student on Kadama

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Kadama's Gen-Z founders Amin Shaykho (ex-Apple Software Engineer), Marwan El-Rukby (ex-Getty Images Analyst), and Dani Shaykho (University of Washington Computer Science) knew that the two most popular activities students would be doing are learning online and consuming content on social media. Realizing that students were seeking fun ways to learn, Kadama started building a platform immersed with interactive experiences and communities that would appeal to the dynamic interests of Gen-Z.

During the pandemic, social media consumption by students drastically increased. "I saw many videos go viral and decided to give it a shot. I posted a video and within a few hours it went viral. I posted another video. It went viral. It became clear that if we create a cool, exciting, and relatable brand around learning, we can become the largest educational social media presence ever," said Amin Shaykho, CEO of Kadama.

Kadama's rapid initial success has attracted many investors, who mentioned that they were "long awaiting a disruptive Gen-Z go to market strategy through social media." Since launching 7 months ago, Kadama has accumulated over half a billion views on TikTok and Instagram, creating viral videos such as biting into a raw onion while sharing tips for school. Grishin Robotics led Kadama's $1.7 million seed round to continue propelling Kadama's viral marketing and rapid product growth through gamification, short-form content, and more.

"We're excited to partner with Amin, Marwan, and Dani. This past year has made it clear that existing models of education are outdated. Kadama exists where Gen-Z students already spend their time: on their phones, on TikTok and social media. Students are empowered to use Kadama when and where they feel they need it, instead of being forced to rely on teacher- or parent-driven tutoring classes," said Dmitry Grishin, founder and managing partner of Grishin Robotics, who is joining Kadama's board.

Kadama engages students beyond the learning environment through viral events such as weekly trivia and gaming tournaments, which have had tens of thousands of participants. These events are part of Kadama's product vision to create experiences that break the stigma that learning is boring.

"As a team of students and recent college graduates, we are shocked to see the level of virality and relatability our brand has towards millions of students. We have never seen people our age talk about learning apps outside of the classroom," Shaykho says.

Contact
Email: outreach@kadama.com
Phone: (425) 419-1885

Kadama is the largest educational social media brand and a popular Gen-Z learning app that has impacted millions of students, with a mission to break the stigma that learning is boring.

Cision View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gen-z-learning-app-kadama-secures-1-7-million-seed-funding-after-impacting-millions-during-the-pandemic-301306585.html

SOURCE Kadama