Imagi seed round brings in $4.5 million for K-12 AI coding tools
Imagi raised $4.5 million to expand its K-12 AI coding tools, with investors including Brighteye Ventures, Day One Capital and Will.i.am.
By Theo Nakamura · Staff Writer
· 3 min read
Imagi announced a $4.5 million seed round as the edtech startup pushes further into AI-assisted coding for K-12 classrooms. For investors tracking education technology, the Imagi seed round is another sign that schools are becoming a key market for AI tools built with privacy controls and teacher oversight.
The company said the round included Brighteye Ventures, Day One Capital and artist Will.i.am. A seed round is early-stage funding that startups typically use to expand product development, hiring and sales before they are operating at larger scale.
Imagi was founded in 2018 by Dora Palfi and Beatrice Ionascu. Palfi, who comes from a family of teachers, told TechCrunch that education had shaped her view that learning can change a person’s path. The company builds tools for K-12 students and teachers to support coding lessons, basic computer skills and, since last year, AI literacy.
How does Imagi teach vibe coding in schools?
Imagi’s move into vibe coding comes through a partnership announced last November with Lovable, an AI coding tool. Vibe coding generally means building software by describing what you want in plain language prompts, then using an AI system to generate or help assemble the code.
Under the Imagi and Lovable partnership, teachers can create lessons and give students limited access to the tool inside a classroom setting. Palfi told TechCrunch that OpenAI provided $1 million in credits so schools can use the Imagi x Lovable product for free, and said Imagi continues to offer free trials and freemium access because of that support.
Palfi gave TechCrunch examples of projects tied to the program. One teacher built an app that translated classroom materials into 15 languages used by students in her class. Another graduate built Alta, a digital wardrobe app inspired by “Clueless.” Palfi also said a student created a website for his lawn-mowing business with a calendar link so customers could book time directly.
What safety controls does Imagi use?
Imagi is positioning its classroom AI product around guardrails, a term that means restrictions designed to reduce unsafe or inappropriate outputs. Palfi told TechCrunch that OpenAI and Lovable have expertise in frontier AI tools, while education specialists such as Imagi have experience putting those tools into classrooms safely.
The company said every prompt and every AI response on the platform is screened, and violations are blocked before reaching a student. Imagi also said it complies with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation.
According to Palfi, that compliance means there is no data retention, and Imagi’s partners are not training their systems on student data or student activity. The company also trains teachers to use AI, coding and computational tools so they can teach those subjects with more confidence.
Palfi told TechCrunch that schools should address the fact that many children already use AI. Her view is that students need to learn how to build with AI, rather than only consume what AI systems produce.
Since launch, Imagi has worked with more than 700,000 students in 140 countries, according to Palfi. The company plans to use the new funding to reach more K-12 schools, invest in district sales, hire employees, add product features and support the launch of a new platform next month.
This story draws on original reporting from TechCrunch.
