What Poio does

Poio AS is a Norwegian EdTech company that develops and publishes 'Lesespillet Poio', a mobile game for iOS and Android that teaches children aged 4-9 to read through phonics-based play. The product embeds an adaptive difficulty engine inside a fantasy world populated by 'leslinger' (letter-eaters), allowing children to gradually assemble an in-game storybook as they progress, with an option to purchase the same story as a printed companion book ('Poio og Leslingene') via Norwegian retailer Sprell.no. Parents receive automated email progress reports after each play session of 30+ minutes, and up to five child profiles can be tracked per device, with installs shareable across siblings via Apple Family Sharing and Google Play Family Library.

The company operates a hybrid B2C and B2B model: the primary revenue stream is one-time paid app downloads on the Apple App Store and Google Play, supported by physical book sales through Sprell.no, while schools and municipalities access the product through a free pilot programme via [email protected]. Notable institutional adoption includes all primary schools in Halden kommune (Norway) and Grantomta Montessoriskola (Sweden), and the company is explicitly positioned for special-needs use cases including dyslexia, hearing impairment and Down syndrome, with a Statped (Norwegian Directorate for Special Needs Education) recommendation.

Poio was founded by Daniel Senn, a pedagogue, in 2016-2017 in Oslo, with co-founder and CTO Johannes Stensen; it received approximately 1 million NOK in seed funding from Founders Fund (Rolf Assev) and a further ~$502,420 from Schibsted before being acquired by Kahoot! ASA in May 2019 alongside the DragonBox team. The product is available in Norwegian, Swedish, and English (the UK English version launched in June 2019) and has reached 100,000+ children as of May 2019, winning Gold for Best Learning Game at the Learning Technologies Awards 2019 and a spot on Common Sense Education's 'Great Early Reading Resources' top picks in March 2020.

Name

Poio

Legal name

Poio AS

Website

https://poio.no

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Poio AS is a Norwegian EdTech company that publishes 'Lesespillet Poio', a phonics-based iOS and Android mobile game teaching children aged 4-9 to read through adaptive difficulty and an embedded narrative book, distributed direct-to-consumer via app stores and a Sprell.no physical book, with a free school pilot channel.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Oslo

HQ country

Norway

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Paid app downloads (iOS / Android): One-time paid download of the Lesespillet Poio app on the App Store (id1529174573) and Google Play (com.kahoot.read). Single purchase unlocks the full game; consumers can install the same purchase on multiple devices within the same platform family (Apple Family Sharing / Google Play Family Library).
2. Physical companion book sales: Printed version of the in-game adventure book ('Poio og leslingene') sold via retail partner Sprell.no, providing a physical extension of the digital experience and an upsell beyond the app purchase.
3. School pilot program / institutional access: Schools can request a free trial version (gratis prøveversjon) via [email protected]; this is described as a pilot pathway rather than a publicly priced SKU and supports institutional adoption (e.g., Halden kommune).

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Poio sells 'Lesespillet Poio' (Poio Learn to Read), a mobile game for iOS and Android that teaches children aged 4-9 to read through a phonics-based fantasy adventure in which they progressively assemble an in-game storybook while learning letter sounds and words. The digital app is complemented by a printed physical version of the in-game book ('Poio og Leslingene') sold through the Sprell.no retailer. A separate school pilot program offers a free trial version (gratis prøveversjon) of the app to primary schools and municipalities.

Product overview

Poio offers a single core consumer product, the mobile learn-to-read game "Lesespillet Poio" (Poio Learn to Read), supported by one companion physical product, the printed storybook "Poio og Leslingene" (Poio and the Letterlings). The mobile app is the primary offering — distributed on iOS (App Store) and Android (Google Play) in Norwegian, Swedish, and English — and uses phonics-based play to teach children aged 4–9 to read while they explore a fantasy world and gradually assemble the in-game storybook; the same storybook is then available as a printed paper book so the child can read it independently. Following the May 2019 merger with Kahoot! and the DragonBox team, Poio operates as part of the Kahoot! family of learning apps.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Lesespillet Poio: The Norwegian-language learn-to-read mobile game marketed as 'Lesespillet Poio' (the Poio reading game).
• Lässpelet Poio

Products and services

• Lesespillet Poio (Poio Learn to Read) Mobile game (iOS and Android) that teaches children aged 4-9 to read through play, combining a fantasy adventure world of 'leslinger' (letter-eating creatures) with phonics-based letter, sound and word training. Adaptive difficulty automatically matches each child's level and the child gradually assembles an in-game storybook as they progress.
• Poio og Leslingene (Poio and the Letterlings) — printed companion book Printed, physical version of the storybook that children assemble inside the Poio app, intended to become the first book the child can read aloud to a parent. Sold via Sprell.no and linked from the Poio download page.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100,000+ children helped to learn to read (May 2019)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Common Sense EducationcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 March 2020Common Sense Education selected Poio for its exclusive 'Great Early Reading Resources' top picks (March 2020). Common Sense's review highlights Poio's child-controlled pace and learning-as-byproduct-of-play design, providing independent credibility in front of millions of US/English-speaking families and teachers.
• Kahoot!flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2019Poio and Kahoot! announced a 'join forces' combination in May 2019. Kahoot! acquired / merged with Poio and the team, bringing Poio into the Kahoot! ecosystem alongside DragonBox. The Android package id (com.kahoot.read) and iOS app id (1529174573) now sit under the Kahoot! publisher account. Following the combination, Kahoot! and Poio jointly gifted the English version to all existing Norwegian and Swedish customers.
• DragonBoxcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2019As part of the May 2019 merger with Kahoot!, the DragonBox math-game team joined Poio under the same Kahoot! umbrella, creating a combined Norwegian EdTech group. DragonBox titles (DragonBox Numbers, DragonBox Algebra 5+, Magnus' Kingdom of Chess) are cross-promoted in Poio's blog as companion learning apps.
• Statped (Norwegian Directorate for Special Needs Education)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2017Statped officially recommends Poio in its 'Apptips for sommeren' and lists it as a useful app for children, including those at risk of dyslexia. This endorsement is cited repeatedly in Poio's blog and PR.
• BarnevaktenminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2017Norwegian child-safety review organization Barnevakten published a full review recommending Poio as 'a playful and motivating app to teach children to read, recommended from age 4'. Review is linked from Poio's press and home pages.
• Sprell.nominorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSprell.no is the Norwegian toy/children retailer selling Poio's printed companion book 'Poio og leslingene'. Poio directs app-store buyers to Sprell.no for the physical book from multiple pages (homepage, download page, blog).

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• DragonBox: Sibling company under Kahoot!, producing math-learning games (DragonBox Numbers, DragonBox Algebra 5+). Directly comparable mobile game-based pedagogy for children, sharing the same Norwegian EdTech DNA and now the same parent company as Poio.
• Teach Your Monster to Read: Award-winning phonics-based learn-to-read game funded by the Usborne Foundation. Closely comparable as a playful, adaptive, phonics-first reading game for early primary children, with both free and paid tiers.
• Homer: Personalized early-learning program for ages 2-8 with a strong reading-emphasis track. Comparable target audience, adaptive difficulty and parent-reported progression model.

Broad incumbents

• Kahoot!: Norwegian-listed EdTech platform and Poio's parent company. Overlaps in gamified learning for children, but operates at a much broader scale across K-12 subjects and is parent rather than peer in product.
• Reading Eggs: Established subscription-based learn-to-read platform for ages 2-13. Comparable end-user outcome (early reading) with a broader curriculum and multi-year subscription monetization.
• Khan Academy Kids: Free, award-winning early-learning app for ages 2-8 covering reading, math and SEL. Comparable age band and reading curriculum; competes on price (free) and breadth rather than depth.

Emerging players

• Duolingo ABC: Duolingo's free learn-to-read app for ages 3-6 using game mechanics. Comparable mobile-first phonics product but backed by a much larger organization with a freemium monetization model.
• Endless Alphabet: Monster-themed early-literacy app teaching vocabulary and letter sounds through interactive animations. Comparable playful, story-driven early-reading product aimed at preschool/early primary children.
• Lingokids: Subscription-based English learning and early literacy app for kids 2-8. Comparable gamified early-learning product targeting a similar age band with subscription monetization.

Regional players

• Boksluker (Lesesenteret / University of Stavanger): Norwegian digital reading-practice service for primary school children developed with Lesesenteret at the University of Stavanger. Direct regional peer serving the same Norwegian early-reader segment via schools.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCrvAJ1qY0gW1nWgBLeIhBWw
• Facebookfacebook.com/poioread

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Poio