Lost My Name is helping kids learn to read -- with data. The London-based startup creates personalised children's books: enter a name into its web tool and it generates a story. Its first book, The Boy [Or Girl] Who Lost His/Her Name, has sold more than 600,000 copies. "Personalised books have been on the market for more than 40 years, but have never been taken seriously," Lost My Name co-founder Asi Sharabi told WIRED.
Sharabi and co-founders Tal Oron, writer David Cadji-Newby and illustrator Pedro Serapicos set out to help children learn their name by making the letters in them into characters. To create a database of names, Sharabi consulted the UK Census. Lost My Name now has 1,000 illustrations in seven languages, and in June secured $9 million (£5.7m) in funding led by Google Ventures.
Its next book, The Incredible Intergalactic Journey Home, out in September, teaches kids about places -- with the help of generated galaxies, Nasa images and GPS data. "We're combining the power of stories with technology to create magical experiences," says Sharabi. "Books have been neglected as a medium for innovation -- we're changing that."
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
