littleBits Electronics, the open-source library and maker of electronic modules and kits to foster STEM learning, has been acquired by Boulder-based Sphero. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. “When I studied engineering, it was top-down, test-based,” said Ayah Bdeir, founder of littleBits. “I hated it and wanted to quit every semester. Then I got exposed to the pedagogy of learning through play and my life changed; no one could peel me away from learning, inventing, creating. Together, littleBits and Sphero are now bringing this experience to kids everywhere.”
Then I got exposed to the pedagogy of learning through play and my life changed; no one could peel me away from learning, inventing, creating. Together, littleBits and Sphero are now bringing this experience to kids everywhere – Ayah Bdeir
Founded by Bdeir in 2011, littleBits had raised a total of $62.3M in reported funding plus an unreported round of $14.3M earlier this year that AlleyWatch exclusively covered. Investors in the company include Khosla Ventures, True Ventures, Lerer Hippeau, Foundry Group, VTF Capital, MIT Media Lab, Morgan Stanley, Oreilly AlphaTech Ventures, Two Sigma Ventures, DFJ Growth, MVI (MENA Venture Investments), Joanne Wilson, Wamda Capital, Grishin Robotics, Joi Ito, Nicholas Negroponte, Josh Spear, Fadi Ghandour, Neoteny Labs, Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners, Jason Port, and Mohamed Nanabhay.
Combined, the two companies have over 140 patents and have sold over $500M in kits and robots. “Sphero and littleBits are on a mission to make hands-on learning fun and memorable,” said Paul Berberian, Sphero’s CEO. “Together, we’re able to make an even greater impact by delivering the best possible solution — whether it is programming a robot to solve a maze or building an electronic music synthesizer. There are infinite learning possibilities — and they’re all fun.”
Together, we’re able to make an even greater impact by delivering the best possible solution — whether it is programming a robot to solve a maze or building an electronic music synthesizer. There are infinite learning possibilities — and they’re all fun – Paul Berberian
