illumine Raises $2.5M Seed Funding to Revolutionize Global Childcare Management with AI
- ByStartupStory | June 18, 2025
illumine, an AI-driven startup dedicated to transforming early childhood education, has secured $2.5 million in a seed funding round led by Prime Venture Partners. With this funding, the company plans to accelerate product innovation and expand its presence globally as it aims to become the industry standard in childcare management software.
Founded with a deeply personal mission, illumine was born out of CEO Navneet Rastogi’s experience of missing his son’s first steps while he was at daycare. “I only found out weeks later,” he shared. “That should have been a moment of joy I experienced in real time. That incident made me realize how disconnected the communication in childcare truly is.”
This realization laid the foundation for illumine — a platform designed to keep parents connected, empower educators, and streamline operations for childcare centers. The result is the world’s first vertical AI SaaS platform purpose-built for the childcare industry.
Since its inception, illumine has gained significant global traction, now powering operations at over 3,000 childcare centers across 56 countries, including the U.S., UAE, Europe, Southeast Asia, and India.
“Parents invest thousands of dollars every year into early education, yet the childcare ecosystem remains underdigitized,” said Shripati Acharya, Partner at Prime Venture Partners. “illumine is changing that with an AI-first, full-stack platform that simplifies operations, improves learning outcomes, and builds trust between centers and families.”
illumine’s technology allows educators to reduce time spent on administrative tasks and focus on what matters most — nurturing children. The platform includes tools for daily communication, activity updates, digital attendance, progress tracking, billing, compliance, and more — all centralized within a seamless, intuitive interface.
Sourabh Agarwal (CTO) emphasized that illumine is more than automation: “We’re building AI that understands the unique operational challenges of childcare providers. Every feature is designed to adapt to different settings — from independent preschools to large-scale childcare chains.”
Purva Goyal (CPO) added, “With illumine, centers don’t just go digital — they scale with confidence, backed by real-time data, insights, and tools that are tailored to their needs.”
The funding will support illumine’s growth strategy, including ramping up hiring across product, engineering, and customer success functions, and accelerating its go-to-market in North America and other key regions.
With a firm focus on global scalability, educator empowerment, and parental trust, illumine is on track to redefine the future of early childhood education — powered by AI, driven by empathy.
About illumine
illumine is the world’s first AI-powered, full-stack childcare management platform built to modernize early childhood education. From simplifying day-to-day operations to enhancing real-time communication and delivering actionable insights, illumine is trusted by over 3,000 centers in 56+ countries. Headquartered in India, the platform is empowering childcare providers worldwide to scale effectively and build more transparent, connected ecosystems for families and educators alike.
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