DHDL says no, other investors say yes: Tuktoro secures 2.5 million euros despite TV exit
Berlin-based edtech startup a2zebra secures 2.5 million euros for math toy Tuktoro – despite criticism on “The Lion’s Den”.
It's been an eventful week for the Tuktoro team: On Monday they were still in the spotlight on "The Lion's Den" , on Tuesday they must have been busy processing orders - and now the next big step: The Berlin Edtech startup a2zebra announces seed financing of 2.5 million euros for its math learning toy Tuktoro.
Several well-known investors are new on board: Dieter von Holtzbrinck Ventures (DvH Ventures), Simon Capital, the family office of the owner family of the Krombacher brewery, IBB Ventures, Angel Invest and the Falk Family Office of Just Spices co-founder Florian Falk.
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Existing investors , Toniebox founders Patric Faßbender and Marcus Stahl, who joined as business angels in 2024, have also significantly increased their stake.
The startup attracted criticism on “Die Höhle der Löwen” (The Lion’s Den) with a targeted valuation of 5 million euros with only 56,000 euros in sales – investors such as Carsten Maschmeyer and Janna Ensthaler considered the valuation to be significantly excessive and rejected a deal.
Despite praise for the product and its potential, the founders remained stubborn in their high valuation, which scared off the lions. Ultimately, no investment was made on the show.
Tuktoro is a bulbous, glowing figure in a purple sweater that's designed to help preschool and elementary school children learn math in a playful way, without creating pressure to perform. An app allows for learning games that require, for example, recognizing dice patterns or solving arithmetic patterns.
The figure interacts with the tablet via inserted cubes – thus creating a haptic, digital learning experience.
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The fresh capital will primarily be used to expand the company's proprietary AI software, TukOS. With this software, a2zebra aims to develop learning content even more quickly and individually – thus turning the toy into a platform.
The figure was designed by co-founder and industrial designer Justyna Zubrycka. In addition to Benner and Zubrycka, the founding team also includes Andreas Häring and designer Patrick Goehl.
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