By Gina Baldassaree – Startup Daily
Autism support platform Rockmelon raises $3 million…
Sydney startup Rockmelon, which has created an education platform to help autistic children and their parents, has raised $3 million from angel investors to expand internationally.
Developed in hand with clinicians and experts, the Rockmelon platform provides parents with a library of interactive learning modules designed to help them help their children.
The idea for the startup first came to executive chairman Alex Andre de la Porte after his son Beau was diagnosed with autism, and he realised there was a lack of digital tools available to help him.
“I wanted to improve the situation. Early intervention can be very expensive so we looked at how we could build a product that could democratise the cost and give more people access to treatment,” he said.
Deciding to pursue the idea, Andre de la Porte brought on Nicole Rogerson, founder of Autism Awareness Australia, as CEO, and startup veteran Stuart Waite as COO. Launched last year, it has now grown to 17 staff.
The angel funding will assist Rockmelon in rolling out its platform in the UK and in the US, where it is working with Vanderbilt University.