Bloomberg – Jeremy Kahn
“The problem with most educational video games is that fun takes a back seat to education. Games such as Math Blaster and Number Munchers are little more than glorified quizzes, and it’s no wonder kids would rather play Candy Crush or Angry Birds, says Lauri Järvilehto. Ideally, he says, the educational component should be “invisible”—kids should learn without realizing it. Järvilehto is co-founder and chief executive officer of Lightneer, a mobile-gaming startup betting it’s developed the right spoonful of sugar. Like much of his team, he comes from Rovio Entertainment, the Finnish maker of Angry Birds. After Rovio dissolved its educational-games division in 2015, Järvilehto, then a consultant, and Lauri Konttori, the Angry Birds maker’s creative director, left to start their venture with backing from London startup accelerator Founders Factory and Rovio’s co-founder Niklas Hed and then-marketing chief Peter Vesterbacka.”(more)