Tampa startup that uses augmented reality technology competes for $1 million prize • St Pete Catalyst
Scott P. Arroyo
3 min read
Tampa-based startup MARVL, which uses animated augmented reality to teach children languages, will enter a global pitch competition to win $1 million and make critical connections with businesses.
The startup’s app, MARVL, which stands for Multimedia Augmented Reality Vocabulary Learning, combines animated augmented reality with research-based best practices for language learning. It allows children from kindergarten to grade 12 to complete their English vocabulary learning on their own.
MARVL was founded in April 2020 by Sara Smith, Assistant Professor of Foreign Languages at the University of South Florida, and startup veteran Murewa Olubela. The duo started MARVL to help bilingual students.
Sara Smith, Founder and CEO, MARVL. Photo provided.
“We wanted to create a learning tool for teachers who often assign homework to language learning students who don’t speak English, and that’s especially needed when their parents don’t speak English either,” Smith said. .
MARVL was selected as one of the Startups Elite 200 for the GSV Cup 2022. MARVL was selected from a global applicant pool of over 750 companies, the largest applicant pool for the GSV (Global Silicon Valley) Cup to date.
This year’s cup, powered by HolonIQ, HubSpot, and GSV Ventures, will take place at ASU (Arizona State University) and GSV Summit from April 4-6 in San Diego. In addition to the monetary prize, MARVL will have the opportunity to interact with top venture capitalists, thought leaders and potential customers, as well as receive an exclusive invitation to ASU and the GSV Startup Academy. .
Today, MARVL is in beta testing and has partnerships with public schools in Manatee County, including Dreamers Academy in Sarasota.
Olubela said the company is largely based on a business-to-business (B2B) model and plans to create a business-to-consumer (B2C) model.
Smith and Olubela shared that MARVL has been on a growth path since its founding, and the Covid-19 pandemic has created a silver lining.
“The pandemic has accelerated what was on the horizon in how we think about leveraging technology to best support learning and the learners who need support the most,” Smith said. “The rapid shift to remote learning has also accelerated teachers’ comfort with technology for better academic outcomes.”
“During the pandemic, we’ve seen the great digital divide for students who didn’t have access to computers and that creates barriers to learning, but in every home in America, families have cell phones, and our app is designed to be mobile,” added Olubela.
The focus is on Spanish-speaking students learning English and English-speaking students learning Spanish, but Smith and Olubela said they are looking to add more languages.
“What’s on the record is the addition of Haitian Creole. It’s not a common language outside of Florida, but in Florida we have a lot of kids from Creole-speaking homes,” Smith said. , noting that there was also interest in adding tools to teach Korean.
The startup is currently lifting its pre-seed round and has received funding from the USF Foundation and the National Science Foundation.
MARVL was one of the startups in Tampa Bay Wave’s TechWomen Rising Accelerator and one of the semi-finalists for Startup of the Year.
The startup will attend the Synapse Summit in Tampa on February 17.
