UK-based STEAM toymakers Tech Will Save Us scored a big success with its recent crowdfunding investment campaign on the Seedrs platform.
More than 260 investors joined the venture-backed business as stay-at-home orders during the COVID-19 pandemic fueled a boom for in-home learning. More than $1 million was raised through commitments by investors from the private sector in addition to the UK Government’s Future Fund.
“We’d very much like to thank all of our new investors for their support, as well as everyone who has assisted with our application to Future Fund,” says Bethany Koby, co-founder and CEO of Tech Will Save Us. “Education has forever been changed by the lockdown and we are hugely excited to be accelerating our plans for home learning clubs as parents increasingly look for ways to inspire learning and prepare their kids for the future.”
Tech Will Save Us began in 2012 with shipping STEM kits from a kitchen table. In the years since the company has expanded upon its mission to “spark the creative imagination of young people using hands-on technology” with a full range of make-it-yourself kits and digital tools.
Beyond its growing range of learning kits, Tech Will Save Us collaborated with Google, Code Club, The Prince’s Trust, the BBC to create the micro:bit — a pocket-sized computer that was given to 1 million kids worldwide. The company also partnered with Disney to create a STEAM toy inspired by Marvel’s Avengers.
Last year, the company shifted focus to digital sales, which have grown during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company says that it has seen 110% growth in digital sales as families stay at home.
Tech Will Save Us began its crowdfunding campaign in April, quickly exceeding its initial goal within 24 hours.
