Pebble, the innovative technology platform that connects care and activity providers with parents to book and manage childcare, has announced a £5 million seed extension fund round, led by Koru, to boost availability and access to childcare across the UK.

Pebble is the first UK tech solution that empowers care and activity providers to connect with anyone at any time, no matter where they are, creating a single platform for parents to discover, book and manage their childcare and activities flexibly and conveniently.

The seed round was led by Koru, the venture foundry of Ontario Teachers’, one of the world’s largest pension plans with $242.5 billion in net assets (as of June 30, 2022). Koru exists to build businesses from concept to commercialisation worldwide, delivering breakout growth.

Pebble offers access to more than 11,000 activities and access to over 500 nurseries, including the UK’s largest nursery network, Busy Bees, and several of the biggest activity franchise providers. This includes options for parents to tailor their selections according to a child’s age and to book last-minute ad hoc childcare in Ofsted rated “Outstanding” and “Good” nursery settings. Pebble is seeing fast growth with 22% uplift month-over-month of new parents booking via the platform, demonstrating a genuine need for more flexible childcare options.

Speaking about the raise, CEO Lance Beare comments, “ We are on a mission to give parents and guardians a unique experience by allowing them to easily discover, book and manage child care and activities in a single place. The additional funding will enable us to connect with thousands more parents, activity providers and carers seamlessly through our technology. Activity and childcare providers will also continue to grow their revenue streams at a time when increased revenue is crucial to riding out the recession.”

This funding will enable Pebble to continue to grow its geographic coverage, launching into more cities outside of London to offer parents flexibility, choice and convenience whilst enabling childcare and activity businesses to provide and promote their services to a wider audience, creating operational efficiencies and maximising revenue streams.

Bryan Marcovici, Managing Director & Managing Partner at Koru comments, “Pebble lets parents discover and book all their children’s activities in one place and makes it easy for childcare providers to find new customers by meeting the caregiver where they are. This significant capital investment allows Pebble to continue growing its market-leading booking platform, enabling businesses to focus on giving more parents unmatched access to all the care and fun that they wish for their children.”