Coming to a student’s iPad near you: Boddle launches in Apple App Store as edtech startup celebrates third birthday
February 14, 2021 | Startland News Staff
A Kansas City-generated gamified math education platform is expanding its user base this weekend as Boddle Learning debuts the high-profile startup’s long-awaited iOS app version.
The move is expected to most immediately benefit schools that use iPads, as well as parents at home who can now more-easily access the technology on mobile devices, said Edna Martinson, co-founder of Boddle.
What is Boddle Learning?
Boddle offers a gamified approach to increasing student engagement while creating a virtual, immersive math environment. The technology’s unique AI operates on an adaptive algorithm that easily identifies each student’s individual learning gaps before adjusting assessment questions to target the skills that need reinforcement and are necessary to advance.
Boddle was designed for positive reinforcement. Students’ game characters feature bottle-heads that fill up as they learn, which was designed to encourage them to fill up on knowledge, as well as to value themselves and others for what they see on the inside.
Click here to learn more about Boddle.
“This app launch is a pivotal milestone for Boddle, and it fits perfectly with our commitment to increasing accessibility to engaging math practice for all students,” she said. “By releasing the app, we hope that Boddle can support more students during both remote and in-person learning and make it super fun for kids to practice and master math anywhere.”
Launching Boddle in the Apple App Store coincides with the startup’s third anniversary — Feb. 14, a fitting day for Martinson and co-founder/husband Clarence Tan — and comes as demands for remote learning resources and tools continue during the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing restrictions of in-person learning, she said.
Click here to download the app in the Apple App Store.
Identified as one of Startland News’ Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2020, Boddle experienced a surge in user adoption during the pandemic and expanded its reach to 50,000-plus student sign-ups across all 50 U.S. states and 100 countries globally.
In July, Boddle announced a $350,000 investment by Atento Capital — an infusion that required the leading Kansas City edtech startup to relocate to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to work more closely with the funder. Boddle previously received significant funding from AT&T and was a $50,000 finalist in the OHUB.KC accelerator.
Click here to read more about the Atento investment.
Boddle, however, remains connected to the Kansas City metro, Martinson told Startland News. Co-founder Tan on Thursday was announced as one of 13 new fellows for Kansas City-based Pipeline Entrepreneurs.
Click here to see the other five Kansas City founders entering Pipeline in 2021.
This story is possible thanks to support from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a private, nonpartisan foundation that works together with communities in education and entrepreneurship to create uncommon solutions and empower people to shape their futures and be successful.
For more information, visit www.kauffman.org and connect at www.twitter.com/kauffmanfdn and www.facebook.com/kauffmanfdn
Featured Business

2021 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Mr. K Award finalists: RFP360, KC Bier Co., Charlie Hustle among Chamber’s Top 10 Small Businesses
From one of Kansas City’s most popular breweries to a startup that streamlines the RFP process to an apparel company known for its big heart, 10 small businesses received surprise visits Friday — each now a finalist for the prestigious Mr. K Award. “The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce showered us with confetti today…
New industry-specific LaunchKC accelerators expected to bring more dollars, winners
Applications for this year’s LaunchKC program are going vertical, said Drew Solomon, announcing plans for three industry-specific accelerators — two of which will launch new funding-rich demo days in the fall. “We’ve always wanted to grow and expand not only the competition, but the program as a whole,” said Solomon, chair of the LaunchKC program.…
We Create KC report: Half of top VC-backed companies tapped early-stage support
In 2018, 50 percent of the top venture capital-funded companies in Kansas City got their start with early-stage investment programs that emerged after 2012, according to We Create KC 2019, KCSourceLink’s sixth annual state of entrepreneurship report. “That high percentage shows us how important these early-stage investment programs are to our entrepreneurs and our ecosystem,”…


