Portland’s Prelude Early Learning secures $2M NIH SBIR grant

Nondilutive funding doesn’t get talked about nearly as much as it should. Especially given that it’s far more attainable and friendly than Venture Capital. That’s why I was happy to see that Prelude Early Learning — the company formerly known as Finnegan the Dragon — has been awarded a $2 million SBIR Phase II grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, part of the National Institutes of Health.

Prelude’s flagship program, Finnegan the Dragon, is a blended early learning system that combines speech-to-print instruction, music, play, and voice-powered technology to strengthen foundational language and pre-reading skills. Rather than using technology as a passive learning experience, Prelude is designed to get young children actively participating. Children listen. They speak. They sing. They play. Classroom instruction connects with interactive digital experiences at home, creating opportunities for children to practice foundational skills across their learning environments.

The Phase II money funds a clinical trial of roughly 200 children across 12 classrooms. It will focus on testing how well the platform works for kids ages 2 to 6. And how teachers actually use it day to day.

“Early literacy begins long before a child learns their letters,” said Emily Cadiz, founder and CEO of Prelude Early Learning. “It starts with sounds. Then words. Then conversations. And it grows every time a child gets to use their voice.”

For more information, read “Prelude Early Learning Awarded $2 Million NIH SBIR Phase II Grant to Advance Early Literacy Innovation.”

[Full disclosure: Prelude Early Learning — formerly Finnegan the Dragon — is a PIE alum. I am the cofounder and general manager of PIE.]