Picmonic, the Tempe-based company that develops audiovisual study cards for medical students, has closed on $1.25 million in financing from local investors.

Picmonic CEO and co-founder Ron Robertson said the money will help support the company’s move into the mobile industry and open up new markets in education. This financing, which closed in September, brings the company’s total money raised to $2.6 million.

The company’s first iOs app is coming out by the end of the year and its second product line for nursing students will be released in January.

“We are very appreciative of all the support we’ve received,” Robertson told me today. “We’re also excited for our fast growth.”

Picmonic brought on 11 new employees last quarter and has plans to hire 10 to 15 more in the next six months. The company always is looking for developers, and also will hire in marketing, support staff and content production. Picmonic has 25 employees.

In June, Picmonic was one of six early-stage companies to win the Arizona Commerce Authority’s Spring 2014 Arizona Innovation Challenge.

Picmonic is used by more than 50,000 members in over 75 countries and 500 schools. The company first offered its online platform to medical students.

Picmonic’s audiovisual study cards feature pictorial mnemonics, called picmonics, which are proven to increase memorization capacity and improve long-term recall of information by incorporating humor and graphics to make learning fun, according to the company.

Arizona Tech Investors, formerly Arizona Technology Investor Forum, Tucson-based Desert Angels and individuals from Canal Partners, a Scottsdale-based private equity firm, also participated in the financing.

Reprinted from Phoenix Business Journal:  http://m.bizjournals.com/phoenix/blog/techflash/2014/10/exclusive-picmonic-receives-1-25-million-in.html?ana=twt&r=full