Poppins Raises €5M to Boost Digital Dyslexia Therapy for Kids

Poppins Secures €5M to Expand Digital Therapy for Children with Dyslexia

Paris-based healthtech startup Poppins has raised €5 million in new funding to enhance its digital therapy platform for children with dyslexia. The round brings the company’s total financing to €20 million, underscoring a growing commitment to scale effective neurodevelopmental tools in education and healthcare.

France faces a pressing dyslexia care gap. An estimated 1.3 million children in the country are affected by the learning difference, but with only 25,000 speech therapists available, wait times for intervention often stretch from 12 to 24 months. For many families, this delay can translate to long-lasting academic and emotional setbacks. Closing that care gap has become a public health priority—and that’s exactly where Poppins is stepping in.

Founded in 2018 by François Vonthron and Antoine Yuen, Poppins creates medical-grade digital tools to support children with learning challenges, with a current focus on dyslexia. Their flagship product is a home-use video game app that helps children build reading and cognitive skills through daily practice. Designed to complement—not replace—traditional speech therapy, the app allows for consistent engagement outside of clinical settings.

The development of the app included collaborations with renowned experts such as neurologist Professor Michel Habib (La Timone Hospital) and Professor David Cohen (La Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital), and was shaped in partnership with national dyslexia advocacy organizations. This blend of clinical rigor and user-centric design has helped Poppins gain both credibility and traction in a rapidly evolving field.

In a recent double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving over 6,000 families in France, the platform demonstrated measurable improvements in reading ability and engagement. The study’s results confirmed what many families had already experienced: when therapy is accessible, interactive, and regular, children thrive.

This €5 million round was led by Racine², with continued support from Bpifrance, Eurazeo, Kurma Partners, BNP Paribas Développement, and Verve Ventures. Investors are united by a belief that dyslexia, which accounts for 80% of all learning disabilities, requires innovative and scalable solutions. As Eric Gossart of Serena noted, “There is a clear public health imperative to build better care pathways for dys disorders. Poppins is delivering on that promise.”

Beyond clinical benefits, Poppins embodies a modern philosophy of neurodiversity—recognizing that dyslexic learners aren’t deficient, just different. With tools like Poppins, their strengths can be nurtured early, helping them succeed on their own terms both inside and outside the classroom.