With the pandemic revealing the critical role that childcare plays in our society—and how punishing its absence is for so many families—Wonderschool has raised $25 million in a Series B round to grow and bolster its platform that enables individuals to establish child-care centers, as well as microschools, around the country.

Wonderschool’s news arrives in a world highly attuned to the challenges in childcare. People are afraid about everything from an absence of childcare to one-size-fits-all childcare and underpaid childcare workers. Wonderschool’s platform approach suggests there’s a way through the thicket of concerns that enables caring entrepreneurs to establish a variety of models for places of care.

“The pandemic hasn’t stopped,” Wonderschool founder and CEO Chris Bennett said. “There are new variants, and every time you’re out with someone you’re hearing about some random variant being created in some part of the world. So parents are more and more looking for smaller environments. Wonderschool is looking more and more obvious. We’re seeing a lot of employer interest in supporting childcare and continue to see interest from governments.”