Childcare app Tictag raises 16 billion won in Series B funding

Tictoc Crocodile, a childcare edtech app, announced on the 29th that it had raised 16 billion won in Series B funding. Its total funding now stands at 29 billion won.

The company said it secured a valuation more than twice as high as last year’s. New investors include LG Uplus, NH-Amundi Asset Management, Hana Securities and Industrial Bank of Korea, while Kyobo Securities, KB Securities and WooMi made follow-on investments.

Since launching its first service in 2016, Tictoc Crocodile has grown into a childcare and parenting company with 230,000 parent members and 110,000 teacher members, supported by average annual growth of more than 90% in parent members and 110% in teacher members. Revenue through August this year was nearly three times higher than a year earlier. The company also opened four more offline Tictoc Island kids’ centers this year, bringing the total to seven.

This growth reflects the company’s strategy of combining content with online and offline platforms. By strengthening its in-house content capabilities and successfully expanding its online app, Tictoc Crocodile, and offline channel, Tictoc Island, the company has improved margins by moving beyond primarily in-home services such as play tutors and visiting teachers. It is also expanding its customer base from preschoolers to elementary school students.

Tictoc Crocodile’s strategy of combining offline and online services with content has attracted interest from proptech investors as well as the kids’ market. WooMi, a follow-on investor in this Series B round, has invested in property-related proptech and retail content companies such as Zigbang and Terra Rosa. WooMi’s investment shows that Tictoc Crocodile is evolving beyond a conventional edtech model.

“We renewed contracts this year with all of the roughly 30 large companies we worked with last year, each with annual budgets of around 100 million to 1 billion won,” said Kim Hee-jung, CEO of Tictoc Crocodile. “Companies interested in CSR initiatives such as ESG, childcare for children with disabilities, support for single-parent families and closing learning gaps, as well as in helping employees address childcare challenges, are turning to Tictoc Crocodile.”

Following the Series B investment, Tictoc Crocodile plans to use the funds to build a distinctive childcare ecosystem and deliver an integrated customer experience, advancing personalized services for each child, producing high-quality original content using character IP, and developing an integrated online-offline service platform. These efforts will support its mission: “Whenever and wherever you need help with childcare, Tictoc Crocodile will take care of it.”