Ambit represented education startup Vividbooks s.r.o. in negotiating a CZK 5 million seed venture capital investment from angel investor Jindřich Horák.
Vividbooks combined paper worksheets with an augmented reality app to encourage children to study technical subjects. The seed investment was intended to help complete its educational content, starting with physics.
From a thesis to teaching physics
Vividbooks grew out of graphic designer Vítek Škop’s diploma thesis at UMPRUM. The project combined paper worksheets with an augmented reality app. Teachers printed the worksheets and handed them out to students, who pointed an iPad at them. The drawings then came to life on screen, accompanied by sounds.
Physics was the first subject covered. The teaching materials used an inquiry-based approach: students were encouraged to discover connections themselves and use drawings to show what they had understood.
Funding for content and international plans
The investment was reported by CzechCrunch on April 13, 2020. The investor was Jindřich Horák, co-founder of building materials supplier DEK.
Funding for further development was intended primarily to support the completion of educational content. At the time, the team was focused on physics and acquiring its first paying users. Further plans included expansion into the United States and seeking admission to an accelerator there.
An expanded offering and changes to teaching materials
In fall 2020, the company also began selling licenses for home use. Parents could purchase a library of physics textbooks for learning at home. According to a December report by CzechCrunch, more than forty Czech schools were using the materials at the time.
In subsequent years, the company moved away from augmented reality and focused on workbooks and a broader range of teaching materials, retaining its emphasis on active learning. By April 2024, its offering covered physics, mathematics, chemistry, and biology and, according to CzechCrunch, was used by 700 schools.
