London-based Moshi: Sleep and Mindfulness closed a $12 million Series B round to help it achieve its mission “to improve the health and happiness of a billion families by helping kids relax and sleep.”

WHO: Moshi was born out of Mind Candy, which was created by Michael Acton Smith, one of the co-founders of popular meditation app Calm. Acton Smith stepped down as CEO of Mind Candy in 2015 to move to the US and build Calm. Ian Chambers has been leading the company’s turnaround and next phase. Moshi: Sleep and Mindfulness launched in December 2017 and the app is now the sole focus of the company. Mind Candy has been rebranded to Moshi. Acton Smith remains an active member of the board. Moshi’s app works similarly to Calm, but is focused on kids up to the age of 10 with “Moshi Monsters” as its characters. The Moshi app includes stories, meditations, music, and sounds designed to help kids relax and fall asleep.

WHY: The company says the funding will help it launch new features and content. The new capital will also go toward new advertising initiatives and growth partnerships with the goal of expanding in the United States.

DETAILS:

• Moshi: Sleep and Mindfulness closed a $12 million Series B round of funding.

• The round was led by Bay Area venture firm Accel with participation by Latitude Ventures and TriplePoint Capital, in addition to MTV CEO and chairman Bill Roedy.

• The Moshi app subscriber base grew 7 times in 2019 to reach 100,000.

• Julia Hawkins of Latitude Ventures is joining Moshi’s board in conjunction with the funding.

• Moshi comes with a free one-week trial and an annual subscription priced at $40 annually.

• According to Crunchbase, the company has raised $47.6 million in 12 rounds of funding.

Photo: via Moshi