Times, they are a changin’. Magazines are falling at the feet of their digital replacements, while the printed book feels the burn of affordable, portable reading devices. And yet, we still seem to cling to one category of the binded book (if only for nostalgia’s sake): the children’s book. But for how long?
iStoryTime, a publisher who releases “books” (in interactive app form) exclusively for mobile devices, has just closed a 2 million dollar Series A.
While iStoryTime is a company that most of the younger iPad-toting crowd likely hasn’t heard of, the folks with Bed-Time-Story-age kids very well may have: they’ve got publishing deals for a handful of huge licenses like Transformers, Kung Fu Panda, and Smurfs, with that last property having earned them the #1 spot in the iOS App Store’s Childrens Book section for the past few weeks.
So, what do they plan on doing with the money? More books, in more places. They’re going to focus on expanding their library (which currently sits at around 100 titles), then work on making them available to more devices (right now they’re almost exclusively iOS, with just a couple of titles available on Android.)
The round was lead by Germany’s Corporate Finance Partners (which is particularly cool, because iStoryTime is a Californian company)
Corporate Finance Partners (CFP) provides corporate finance advisory services with a focus on mergers & acquisitions as well as private equity/ venture capital financings. CFP achieves global reach through offices in Germany, USA, Japan, Austria and Hungary. Corporate Finance Partners was founded in 1998 and since then has built up significant expertise and track record in areas like telecommunications/ media/ Internet and life sciences/ pharma. Corporate Finance Partners today is a global M&A advisory firm with 10 managing directors...
iStoryTime brings the joy of a children’s book to the convenience of your iPhone, iPod® touch, or iPad. Their books are illustrated and narrated, so your child can enjoy them even when you’re busy. Best of all, the app is drop-dead simple to use because it’s actually designed for a 2-year old.
Seattle, WA
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Berlin, Germany
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