VALLETTA, MALTA, October 5, 2026 — Notey has closed a $3 million seed round led by Tivoli Ventures and co‑led by Malta Venture Capital, and is opening its European operation in Malta. The round includes a $1 million non‑dilutive development grant from Malta Enterprise and accompanies a distribution partnership with Telemach to bring the platform to households across the Balkans.
Funding and growth
Notey, a Techstars 2023 company, says the funding will support deeper platform engagement, new instruments and partnerships, an expanding European operation, and hiring in both Europe and the United States. The company reports more than 100,000 consumer users and activity in 60 schools across four school districts as it shifts focus toward lasting engagement and making the platform a fixture of everyday practice.
“We are competing with everything else on a kid’s screen, and attention is measured in seconds,” said Dr. Mak Grgić. “Learning an instrument is hard; playing a game is easy and fun. People quit because they lose interest in their instrument too quickly, so we dreamt up a world where games are built to support real instrument practice. Notey is an entertainment-first learning solution, where practice becomes play.”
Notey’s Malta expansion and partnerships
Notey’s Maltese subsidiary, wholly owned by Notey Inc., will serve as the base for product and engineering capacity, school and conservatory partnerships, and distribution across EU markets. The company traces its path to Malta to participation in the 2025 cohort of SuperCharger Ventures, which helped open doors to Malta Venture Capital’s investment and the Malta Enterprise grant. The company cites Malta as an English‑speaking, EU‑based home with a deep bench of gaming, software and creative‑technology talent.
Notey is launching a partnership with EdMusica to extend its reach into music education with a focus on Latin America, and is partnering with symphony orchestras such as the Slovenian Philharmonic to deepen young people’s connection to music. In the Balkans, Notey’s distribution partnership with Telemach, the United Group operator serving Slovenia, Croatia and the wider region, will position the platform as a sales channel to families through an established provider.
Product development plans include a public launch of WorldBuilder, an AI‑native tool that lets users create game worlds and music‑learning experiences with generative AI. Notey targets piano, voice and recorder experiences for release by Q1 2027. The company is hiring across engineering, product and design, content and curriculum, and school partnerships in Malta and the United States.
“Learning an instrument is hard; playing a game is easy and fun. We dreamt up a world where games are built to support real instrument practice,” said Dr. Mak Grgić, CEO and Co‑Founder. Andraž Grahek, General Partner at Tivoli Ventures Fund, said: “At Tivoli Ventures, we back founders who aren’t just building products, but defining new categories. Notey’s team has demonstrated exceptional clarity of vision and execution from day one. We’re thrilled to lead this seed round and partner with them as they push the boundaries of what’s possible.”
Notey pairs game design with an adaptive curriculum so students build real skill while teachers retain visibility into practice between lessons. The company lists operations in New York City, Columbia, South Carolina, and Valletta, Malta, and describes itself as an InnoVision Award recipient.
For interviews and partnership inquiries: marketing@notey.co. Learn more at https://notey.co/.
