SBX becomes the Brooklyn-based studio and educational kids app developer’s largest institutional shareholder.
LONDON -- Sandbox Partners has taken a minority stake in the award-winning Brooklyn-based studio and educational kids app developer, Tinybop, becoming the company’s largest institutional shareholder.
With a global footprint spanning London, New York, Boston and Singapore, SBX’s investment in Tinybop complements its growing learning ecosystem, which aims to educate children for the world of tomorrow. It will fuel Tinybop’s ambitious plans to build a constellation of apps for curious kids around the world, and provide Tinybop with access to its global reach of 20 million kids, parents and teachers. Taking a seat on the company’s board, SBX will also provide Tinybop with strategic, commercial and operational support to help scale the business and expand its operations worldwide.
Headed up by Founder and CEO, Raul Gutierrez, Tinybop is a Brooklyn-based studio of designers, engineers, animators and artists building toys to delight, inspire, and educate. It has created 13 award-winning apps to date, bridging engineering, design and education. Vibrant illustrations and intelligent animations provide delightful, dynamic experiences in every Tinybop app. Elegant, kid-friendly designs and tools for parents, such as information-rich dashboards and handbooks, encourage kids and parents to play and learn together.
Tinybop’s Digital Toys is a growing series, currently comprising five open-ended building apps that empower kids to create and play with whatever they can imagine. The Explorer’s Library – a growing series currently comprising eight inspirational and interactive playscapes for kids — is designed to teach STEM fundamentals while sparking a deeper understanding of the world. In recent years, Tinybop’s apps have won a number of accolades: The Robot Factory won 2015 iPad App of the Year and Parents Magazine named The Human Body one of the Best Apps for Families.
“Raul has created a hub of incredible apps that educate and entertain,” said Bhay Singh, Founder and CEO, SBX. “At SBX, our mission is to educate children for the world of tomorrow, which aligns perfectly with Tinybop’s mission to create toys for tomorrow. We hope that together, we can build on Tinybop’s success and most importantly, equip kids and their millennial parents with the skills and tools they need to navigate the world.”
“We pride ourselves on taking time and care in creating beautifully designed worlds, which resonate with kids, and enable them to explore and unlock their imaginations,” added Raul Gutierrez, CEO and founder, Tinybop. “We want to reach kids the world over and firmly believe in speaking in a universal language that appeals to adults just as much as children. This partnership with the SBX team marks a very exciting time for us. Their commitment to providing an unparalleled ecosystem of fun learning tools for every child across the world, regardless of location and age, is what sealed the deal. With their support, and domain and operational expertise, we will be able to experiment even further and unlock more potential for Tinybop.”
The deal will see Tinybop join SBX’s group of award-winning products, platforms and brands for millennial parents and their children, which consists of Hopster, SuperAwesome, Poptropica, TeacherVision, FamilyEducation and more. Together, the group currently reaches over 20 million kids, parents and teachers worldwide every month, helping to drive the Education 2.0 revolution through interactivity, creativity, exploration and personalisation.
Source: Sandbox Partners
