Monthly Archives: November 2017

Enegia to strengthen its partnerships and sharpen its energy management operations

On 30th of October Enegia has concluded a transaction with Caverion Finland on the transfer of its remote property management operations to Caverion Finland. Concurrently, the companies have reached a partnership agreement on the sales and delivery of energy data management and energy efficiency services.

The global energy industry is experiencing unprecedented changes as a result of digitalisation and shifts in the consumption and production of energy. Enegia’s strategy is to position itself at the centre of these changes. As a result of the transaction, Enegia is able to clarify its operations and focus its energy management business on the EnerKey energy data management services. Enegia is already the leading provider in Finland in this field, and EnerKey offers the best potential for future growth and expansion.

“A partnership with Caverion is ideal for Enegia’s strategy. On the one hand, it brings Enegia new opportunities to grow our EnerKey business, both in Finland and internationally. On the other hand, the remote management services have better potential to develop in Caverion’s management, as part of a larger portfolio and strengthened by the resources Caverion is able to invest in the services,” states Kalle Ahlstedt, CEO of Enegia, of the new agreement.

Together, Enegia and Caverion provide property owners with the most comprehensive selection of energy efficiency services available. Enegia is a leading European provider of energy market and energy reporting services, and its EnerKey software is the most widely used tool in the Nordic countries for the management of energy efficiency services. Caverion is a leading European provider of energy management services and PPP/ESCO/EPC projects. By combining these fields, clients of the two companies have the opportunity to benefit from leading-edge tools and expertise, from the setting of objectives to the planning, implementation and monitoring of projects.

“The megatrends of digitalisation and energy efficiency are combined in the new partnership and asset deal.  Digitalisation also means faster response times and better service. Together with Enegia, we offer our clients an extensive portfolio of digital services for energy data processing and remote property management,” says Ville Tamminen, Head of Division Finland at Caverion.

Caverion designs, builds, operates and maintains user-friendly and energy-efficient technical solutions for buildings, industries and infrastructures. Our services are used in commercial and residential buildings, industrial plants, public sector properties and infrastructure. Our aim is to ensure business continuity and safety, healthy and pleasant surroundings and the optimal performance and cost management of properties. Our vision is to be a leading European provider of advanced and sustainable life cycle solutions for buildings and industries. Our strengths include technological expertise and comprehensive services, covering all technical disciplines throughout the entire life cycles of properties and industrial plants. Our revenue in 2016 was approximately EUR 2.4 billion. Caverion has approximately 17,000 employees in 12 countries in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. Caverion’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki.

www.caverion.com Twitter: @CaverionGroup

Enegia is one of the leading Nordic independent expert organisations for the energy industry. The company has over 20,000 corporate and public sector clients. Over half of the 100 largest Finnish companies use Enegia’s services, and the net sales of our solutions business in 2016 was approximately EUR 16.8 million. Enegia’s electricity trade volume is 20 TWh, corresponding to approximately one quarter of Finland’s electricity use.  Enegia’s EnerKey is the leading energy data and energy process management system in the Nordic countries. The system is used by approximately 300 organisations to manage energy consumption information from 60,000 meters in 13,000 properties. Enegia is majority-owned by the Finnish private equity firm Vaaka Partners Oy.

www.enegia.com

Categories: News

Tags:

IK Investment Partners acquires Debitor Inkasso from BurdaDirect

ik-investment-partners

IK Investment Partners (“IK”) is pleased to announce that the IK Small Cap I Fund has reached an agreement with Neue Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, a subsidiary of BurdaDirect, to acquire Debitor-Inkasso GmbH (“Debitor Inkasso” or “the Company”), a German provider of mass debt collection services, focused on recovering overdue claims and debts on behalf of its customers. 

Founded in 1977, Debitor Inkasso offers a broad range of tailor-made debt collection services to its customers, primarily in the e-commerce/social media, insurance and publishing industries. With a highly automated and continuously refined collection process as well as a broad communication platform (including modern communication channels such as email, WhatsApp and SMS) Debitor Inkasso acts as a link between its customers and their debtors, and is renowned as a reliable and trustworthy partner in the sector.

“With their extensive expertise and strong track record, IK is the ideal partner to support Debitor Inkasso in the next stage of our development. The team shares our strategic vision and growth aspirations, and the partnership will benefit our customers and employees as we strengthen our position as a leader in innovative and flexible debt collection services. BurdaDirect has been a reliable and trustworthy partner over the past years. We would like to thank them for this partnership, which contributed significantly to our success, and we look forward to continuing our business relationship with them as our customer,” said Andreas Stock, CEO of Debitor Inkasso.

“Debitor Inkasso has established a strong positioning in its segment, combining future-oriented solutions with high customer satisfaction. The Company operates in a market characterised by a continuous trend towards business process outsourcing and with strong regulatory requirements. Together with the experienced management team we look forward to supporting Debitor Inkasso’s further development and growth,” said Anders Petersson, Partner at IK Investment Partners and advisor to the IK Small Cap I Fund.

Financial terms of the transaction are not disclosed. Completion of the transaction is subject to merger control approvals.

For further questions, please contact: 

IK Investment Partners
Anders Petersson, Partner
Phone: +49 40 369 8850

Mikaela Hedborg
Director Communications & ESG
Phone: +44 77 87 573 566
mikaela.hedborg@ikinvest.com

Debitor Inkasso 
Andreas Stock, CEO
Phone: +49 451 200 93 99
stock@debitor.de

About Debitor Inkasso
Debitor Inkasso covers the whole spectrum of debt collection services and is a competent outsourcing partner with future-oriented and high-tech solutions, looking back at a track record of almost 40 years in Germany. The Company specializes on mass market B2C debt collection across all industries with a focus on insurance, publishing and e-commerce/social media sectors. For more information, visit www.debitor.de

About IK Investment Partners
IK Investment Partners (“IK”) is a Pan-European private equity firm focused on investments in the Nordics, DACH region, France, and Benelux. Since 1989, IK has raised more than €9 billion of capital and invested in over 110 European companies. IK funds support companies with strong underlying potential, partnering with management teams and investors to create robust, well positioned businesses with excellent long-term prospects. For more information, visit www.ikinvest.com

IK Investment Partners (“IK”) is pleased to announce that the IK Small Cap I Fund has reached an agreement with Neue Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, a subsidiary of BurdaDirect, to acquire Debitor-Inkasso GmbH (“Debitor Inkasso” or “the Company”), a German provider of mass debt collection services, focused on recovering overdue claims and debts on behalf of its customers. 

Founded in 1977, Debitor Inkasso offers a broad range of tailor-made debt collection services to its customers, primarily in the e-commerce/social media, insurance and publishing industries. With a highly automated and continuously refined collection process as well as a broad communication platform (including modern communication channels such as email, WhatsApp and SMS) Debitor Inkasso acts as a link between its customers and their debtors, and is renowned as a reliable and trustworthy partner in the sector.

“With their extensive expertise and strong track record, IK is the ideal partner to support Debitor Inkasso in the next stage of our development. The team shares our strategic vision and growth aspirations, and the partnership will benefit our customers and employees as we strengthen our position as a leader in innovative and flexible debt collection services. BurdaDirect has been a reliable and trustworthy partner over the past years. We would like to thank them for this partnership, which contributed significantly to our success, and we look forward to continuing our business relationship with them as our customer,” said Andreas Stock, CEO of Debitor Inkasso.

“Debitor Inkasso has established a strong positioning in its segment, combining future-oriented solutions with high customer satisfaction. The Company operates in a market characterised by a continuous trend towards business process outsourcing and with strong regulatory requirements. Together with the experienced management team we look forward to supporting Debitor Inkasso’s further development and growth,” said Anders Petersson, Partner at IK Investment Partners and advisor to the IK Small Cap I Fund.

Financial terms of the transaction are not disclosed. Completion of the transaction is subject to merger control approvals.

For further questions, please contact: 

IK Investment Partners
Anders Petersson, Partner
Phone: +49 40 369 8850

Mikaela Hedborg
Director Communications & ESG
Phone: +44 77 87 573 566
mikaela.hedborg@ikinvest.com

Debitor Inkasso 
Andreas Stock, CEO
Phone: +49 451 200 93 99
stock@debitor.de

About Debitor Inkasso
Debitor Inkasso covers the whole spectrum of debt collection services and is a competent outsourcing partner with future-oriented and high-tech solutions, looking back at a track record of almost 40 years in Germany. The Company specializes on mass market B2C debt collection across all industries with a focus on insurance, publishing and e-commerce/social media sectors. For more information, visit www.debitor.de

About IK Investment Partners
IK Investment Partners (“IK”) is a Pan-European private equity firm focused on investments in the Nordics, DACH region, France, and Benelux. Since 1989, IK has raised more than €9 billion of capital and invested in over 110 European companies. IK funds support companies with strong underlying potential, partnering with management teams and investors to create robust, well positioned businesses with excellent long-term prospects. For more information, visit www.ikinvest.com

Categories: News

Tags:

Pegroco has today acquired RC Hisservice AB, a leading supplier of lift installation and services in west Sweden.

Pegroco

RC Hiss offers complete solutions for all types of lifts. The company supplies and installs new lifts as well as performs service, maintenance and refurbishment of existing lifts. The company was founded in 1977 and has around 40 employees. It is based in Varberg and also has offices in Alingsås and Borås. RC Hiss turns over approximately 80 MSEK and has over the last five years had an operating margin of about six percent.

”RC Hiss is a very well-run company with a strong position on the west Sweden market. It has an experienced management with over 40 years in the lift market. The customer base is large and loyal with over 4 000 installed lifts. Pegroco will together with the management continue to strengthen the company’s offer and develop new attractive products and services. We will work for an expansion of the company both organically and by acquisition”, says Thomas Brue, CEO, Pegroco Invest.

”With Pegroco as part owner we can prepare ourselves for the next step in our development. We will now have the possibilities to expand geographically, with west Sweden as the top priority market. The ambition is to grow sales by offering an attractive complete solution”, says Kent Carlsson, CEO, RC Hiss.

The initial acquisition price for the shares amounts to a maximum of 34 MSEK. The sellers also have the right to an earn-out of maximum 6 MSEK during the next two years. The acquisition includes the company’s industrial property in central Varberg and the company’s net cash. Pegroco acquires 90.1 percent of the shares while Kent Carlsson with family remain as owners of 9.9 percent of the shares of the company. The Carlsson family has an option to in the future increase its ownership to over 20 percent.

For more information

See www.pegrocoinvest.com or contact Thomas Brue, CEO Pegroco Invest AB (Publ), tel: +46 70-270 2141, email: thomas@pegrocoinvest.com

Consensus Asset Management AB is Pegroco’s Certified Adviser on Nasdaq First North Stockholm.

Categories: News

Tags:

MariaDB Completes Series C Funding Led by Alibaba Group, Finishing 2017 With $54M in Global Investment

Tesi

MariaDB® Corporation, the company behind the fastest growing open source database, today announced that it raised $27 million in an investment led by Alibaba Group, with participation from existing investors Intel Capital, California Technology Ventures, Tesi, SmartFin Capital and Open Ocean. Combined with a recent $27 million investment from the European Investment Bank (EIB), this latest capital brings MariaDB’s total funding this year to $54 million.

Funding from Alibaba and European Investment Bank accelerates worldwide opportunity for MariaDB as the open source database standard

 

MariaDB will continue its collaboration with Alibaba Cloud, the cloud computing arm of Alibaba Group, to deliver new solutions for the cloud and emerging use cases. MariaDB reaches more than 60 million developers worldwide through its inclusion in every major Linux distribution, as well as a growing presence in the world’s major cloud providers. The latest investments reflect the rising interest in MariaDB from every commercial region around the world.

“Companies around the world are standardizing on open source for modern application development,” said Michael Howard, CEO of MariaDB Corporation. “From global banks to leading telecommunication companies, MariaDB is selected over proprietary offerings for its complete set of database features built for the next generation of applications. This investment allows MariaDB to further accelerate growth, while delivering new solutions for the cloud and automation through machine learning.”

MariaDB’s open source model and active community participation enable the company to iterate more quickly and add new industry-leading capabilities faster than closed, proprietary software vendors like Oracle. Technology giants Alibaba, Tencent, Facebook and others have established collaboration with MariaDB to develop and incorporate significant features including multi-source replication, encryption, point-in-time rollback and more that address new and emerging challenges and opportunities.

Alibaba Cloud is a valued MariaDB contributor and user. MariaDB and Alibaba Cloud companies have worked closely together to enhance features of products such as AliSQL, a cloud-friendly open source project that enables Alibaba’s work with MariaDB.

“MariaDB is becoming the gold standard for enterprise-grade open source databases,” said Jin Li, Vice President of Alibaba Cloud. “We believe that the symbiotic relationships found in the open source community contribute to the success of both MariaDB’s database technology and our cloud platform, and we have an opportunity to build some truly innovative solutions for cloud, on premise and hybrid deployments.”

MariaDB Empowers Mobility in the Cloud

With the widespread adoption of cloud architectures, comes increasing concern that cloud vendor lock-in brings the same lack of choice as proprietary systems. In contrast, MariaDB is deployment agnostic, free from cloud vendor lock-in and engineered to handle transactional, analytical, and web-scale workloads across any public, private or hybrid topology. MariaDB’s mobility affords customers unparalleled flexibility and power with a best-of-breed, open source database.

Record MariaDB Business Growth

Today’s global investment news comes on the heels of a momentous 2017 fiscal year, which ended September 30, with record business growth.
● Rapid Revenue Expansion: MariaDB ended the fiscal year and last quarter with historical revenue gains. The average deal size doubled as customers deployed MariaDB across growing segments of their business, including the first enterprise-wide replacement and migration from Oracle Enterprise to MariaDB.
● New Database Solution Offerings: In 2017, MariaDB continued its track record of innovative development through the availability of two new database solution offerings: MariaDB TX, a complete database solution for transactional workloads, and MariaDB AX, a modern data warehousing solution for high-performance analytics.
● Debuted Inaugural MariaDB User Conference: In April, MariaDB hosted its first-ever annual user conference to address the fast growing business usage of MariaDB. With participation from hundreds of customers, partners and developers from around the world, the conference reflected MariaDB’s growing global presence in the enterprise.

As a general purpose database, MariaDB has been deployed to support a wide range of applications in every industry, from credit card transactions and investment applications in banking, to customer phone data and billing applications in telecom, to inventory, purchases and order fulfillment applications in e-commerce. With the ability to fulfill any transactional or analytical workload, MariaDB supports the most critical applications at companies around the world. Its widespread use across Linux distributions and cloud platforms, as well as its ease of use, have quickly made MariaDB the open source database standard for the modern enterprise.

Additional Resources
● Visit www.mariadb.com
● Follow @mariadb on Twitter
● Read MariaDB’s blog


About MariaDB Corporation
MariaDB Corporation is the company behind MariaDB, the fastest growing Open Source database. MariaDB, with a strong history of community innovation and enterprise adoption, provides the most functionally complete open source database. MariaDB powers applications at companies including Google, Wikipedia, Tencent, Verizon, DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank, Telefónica, Huatai Securities and more.

MariaDB solutions are engineered to run on any infrastructure – bare metal servers, virtual machines, containers, public and private clouds – and is available in all leading Linux distributions, including Ubuntu, and is the default database in openSUSE, Manjaro, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) / CentOS / Fedora, Arch Linux, SUSE Linux Enterprise and Debian, with a reach of more than 60 million developers worldwide.

Categories: News

Tags:

Danfoss acquires Visedo – world-leading expert in electric solutions

Tesi

Danish family company Danfoss has acquired Visedo, a company specializing in electric powertrains and components. Visedo is a world-leading expert in electric solutions for the off-highway and marine markets, and a Tesi portfolio company since 2013. With this step, Danfoss is responding to the growing customer demand for electric solutions to reduce emissions and pollution and to increase productivity. Visedo is headquartered in Lappeenranta in Finland.

Kimmo Rauma, Head of Visedo, Picture: Junnu Lusa

“Acquiring new innovative technology is an important part of our investment in growth, and I am excited about the really great Visedo team joining Danfoss and our future journey. Electrification is a fast-developing area and holds tremendous potential, and Visedo is a great example of how we can focus on customer needs and at the same time strengthen our offering by providing a broader range of solutions,” says Kim Fausing, president and CEO.

“This is a great day for Lappeenranta,” says Tuomo Rönkkö, Chairman of the board for Visedo. “The acquisition acknowledges the knowhow and excellence built over the years between Visedo and the Lappeenranta University of Technology. The long-term commitment of the original investors and the ability to find the best experts to work for the company have been the base for this success story. We are happy the story will continue and bring more investments to the entire region.”

Visedo will be integrated into the Danfoss Power Solutions business segment. The acquisition of this electric systems business is in line with Danfoss’ strategic focus on adding electric solutions as a key competency and a key part of the company’s approach to enable electrification across the global businesses.

“With this acquisition, we position Danfoss and the Danfoss Power Solutions business even stronger. We see a growing demand for electric solutions within off-highway vehicles and the marine market in response to the more stringent emissions regulations being imposed in these markets, as well as efficiency and productivity gains that these solutions bring. Danfoss will, based on this acquisition, continue to invest in electrification to further strengthen our position in the industry. I look forward to welcoming the highly experienced and dedicated Visedo team to Danfoss and to our business,” says Eric Alström, President, Danfoss Power Solutions.

“Joining forces with Danfoss means a quantum leap for our mission to end pollution with our electric solutions. Together with Danfoss, we will have more capacity and investment for greater innovation and market opportunities,” says Kimmo Rauma, Head of Visedo.

“Visedo has been able to quickly position itself as the leading technology provider in its sector. It has shown that a start-up can disrupt a rather conservative market with an intelligent hardware driven business model by combining electrical engineering and software development in which Finland has long and successful history. Above all Visedo is all about its highly skilled personnel and exceptionally strong corporate culture,” comments Jussi Sainiemi, Investment Director at Tesi.

The acquisition includes all Visedo subsidiaries globally and a design and manufacturing site located at its headquarters in Lappeenranta.

The parties have not disclosed the purchase price or other conditions of the acquisition.

For more information:
Danfoss Media Relations, Tel: + 45 70 20 44 88

Jussi Sainiemi, Investment Director, Tesi
+358 40 564 4660
jussi.sainiemi@tesi.fi

 

Founded in 2009, Visedo is a Finnish manufacturer of smart hybrid and electric drivetrains for electric vehicles across the marine industry, commercial vehicle and heavy-duty machinery sectors. Visedo powertrains are suitable for hybrid and electric systems within the power range of 30-2,000kW. Visedo’s head office is located in Lappeenranta, Finland, and the company has subsidiaries in the Netherlands and Hong Kong. Visedo has a broad, international client base, with exports to Europe and Asia representing 90 percent of its sales. More information at www.visedo.com

Danfoss engineers technologies that enable the world of tomorrow to do more with less. We meet the growing need for infrastructure, food supply, energy efficiency and climate-friendly solutions. Our products and services are used in areas such as refrigeration, air conditioning, heating, motor control and mobile machinery. We are also active in the field of renewable energy as well as district heating infrastructure for cities and urban communities. Our innovative engineering dates back to 1933 and today Danfoss is a world-leader, employing 26,000 employees and serving customers in more than 100 countries. We are privately held by the founding family. Read more about us at www.danfoss.com.

Tesi (Finnish Industry Investment Ltd) is a venture capital and private equity company that accelerates companies’ success stories by investing in them directly and via funds. Tesi always invests together with other investors, providing them with access to high quality deal-flow in Finland. Our investments under management total 1 billion euros and we have altogether 723 companies in portfolio. www.tesi.fi / @TesiFII

Categories: News

Tags:

Up-and-coming Customer Data Platform CrossEngage obtains fresh capital

Project A

The MarTech startup company based in Berlin convinces new investors – Vorwerk Ventures is on board

Berlin, November 1st 2017 – The Berlin-based marketing technology company CrossEngage will receive additional funding of 5 million euros. After its successful foundation in July 2015 and subsequent 7-digit seed financing round at the beginning of 2016, the company is attracting new investors and additional ownership interests from existing shareholders. The new round of financing will be led by Vorwerk Ventures as a new shareholder, as well as the existing investor Earlybird Venture Capital. The existing investors Project A, VC Fonds Kreativwirtschaft which is managed by IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft, Cavalry Ventures, 42 Capital, Capnamic Ventures, Ventech and TA Ventures are also increasing their holdings.

In the last two years, the Berlin-based company has focused on product development and grown into a leading customer data platform on the German market. CrossEngage technology enables advertisers to reach their target audiences through individualised messages and automated selection and combination of marketing channels. User data from online and offline marketing channels are summarised and evaluated in real time. This enables marketers to immediately implement consistent campaigns across all marketing channels. Customers such as Contorion, BodyChange, HelloFresh and Deutsche Bahn Vertriebs GmbH are already working successfully with the CrossEngage solution.

The two founders Dr. Markus Wübben and Manuel Hinz are now using the new capital from this financing round to expand their international business and further develop the technology. The aim is to further optimise the platform and offer an even more effective cross-channel marketing approach by applying artificial intelligence, especially on an international level. CrossEngage has been active on the UK market since September 2017. Dan McKinnon, Head of Sales UK, is responsible for customer expansion in London.

US market researcher Gartner published its annual analysis report on business technologies in August 2017. 32 trends were analysed in the “Hype Cycle for Digital Marketing and Advertising”. Gartner already described customer data platforms as an up-and-coming, innovative solution for marketers in last year’s report. In the current report, the market researcher emphasises the benefits of bundling all customer data within a customer data platform as the basis for effective and flexible marketing. The challenge and at the same time the pressure for marketers to have a 360° customer view for a relevant and personalised cross-device and cross-channel address is currently at its peak. CrossEngage is the pioneer in the German market for this trend.

Norbert Muschong, General Manager Vorwerk Ventures, comments: “We see strong growth potential in CrossEngage and are convinced by its technological know-how. We believe that the start-up’s technology can also compete internationally and we are therefore very optimistic that the company will continue to establish itself strongly in the coming year”.

Dr. Florian Heinemann, Partner at Project A, adds: “Within the last two years, CrossEngage has developed an effective and competitive MarTech platform, which offers real orchestration of marketing tools and, above all, has already convinced well-known customers. We are pleased about the success and look forward to continuing to accompany the Berlin team on its way into the international market”.

About CrossEngage

CrossEngage is a leading customer data platform for cross-channel campaign management. The technology enables customer loyalty and thus increases marketing profitability through personalised, real-time campaigns across all channels. Customers include Deutsche Bahn Vertrieb, HelloFresh, Contorion, BodyChange, Stylefile, Friendsurance and Mycs. In addition to Vorwerk Ventures, Project A, Earlybird Venture Capital, VC Fonds Kreativwirtschaft managed by IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft, Capnamic Ventures, Ventech, 42 Capital and Cavalry Ventures, the sponsors include numerous business angels who are prominent in the field. The Berlin location currently employs 45 people. www.crossengage.io

 

Categories: News

Tags:

Kano Raises $28M in Series B, and Brings New Computer Kits to More Than 4,500 Retail Stores

Index Ventures

Today, DIY computer company Kano announced a mass North American rollout into more than 4,500 retail stores, stocking its creative computing kits in every Best Buy and Target, select Walmart stores, Microsoft Stores, Jet.com and The Source, as well as existing partners Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Indigo and Toys R Us. This expansion is fueled by $28M in new funding.

The Series B round was led by the Thames Trust and Breyer Capital, with Index Ventures, the Stanford Engineering Venture Fund, LocalGlobe, Marc Benioff, John Makinson, Collaborative Fund, Triple Point Capital, and Barclays participating.

At more than 1,000 stores, Kano’s full line of all-ages computer and coding kits – including the new Pixel Kit, Motion Sensor Kit, and Computer Kit Complete – will be presented on interactive displays, both on shelves and on end-cap fixtures, heading up the new STEM category.

Kano shipped the first “computer anyone can make” in September 2014, and is now expanding its retail presence more than four-fold. Its kits are deployed in more than 1000 education programs worldwide. Its community of beginner developers, in 86 countries, many as young as six, have shared over 150,000 apps in the last year alone. These beginners spend 13.5 hours, close to Snapchat, on the company’s Computer Kits during the first 30 days. Kano describes itself as a new kind of computer company, focused on creation, not just consumption.

“Kano has grown into a category leader, with hardware and software that prepares all ages for the future,” said Jim Breyer, Founder and CEO of Breyer Capital. “The financing, expansion into mass retail, and new products will expose the unique Kano experience to millions more.”

“The opportunity for Kano and other creative, educational platforms like Codecademy and Roblox is growing,” said Danny Rimer, General Partner at Index Ventures.

“We believe that the time has come for a new kind of computing, premised on people’s need to understand and shape the world around them – not just swipe, tap, and wait for the latest similar-looking screen,” said Alex Klein, Kano’s Co-founder and CEO. “The next generation is rising and ready to make their own technology.”

Kano is already collaborating with the Best Buy Foundation, bringing Computing Kits and workshops to schools and academies across North America as well as supporting the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s ConnectHome initiative, where it provides kits and digital literacy training to underserved communities. The company will also be participating in the Barnes & Noble Mini Maker Faire on November 11th and 12th. All ages will be able to make their first computer and test the range of Kano kits at hundreds of participating stores.

Kano kits combine device building (computers, sensors, light boards) and creative coding with a free online community, available to makers across the globe. The product lineup ranges from the free Kano App and the $29.99 Motion Sensor Kits, to the $249.99 Computer Kit Complete, a build-your-own laptop. Kano is the only end-to-end system in the ed-tech category, and demystifies computing for all ages through simple steps, physical building, and play.

The Computer Kit, starting at $149.99, is the original build-your-own-computer. It comes with all the bits and books you need to make a powerful PC, and a suite of onboard software challenges, that let you explore the terminal, Hack Minecraft, make music, and build apps, leveling up as you go.

The $29.99 Motion Sensor Kit opens up infrared technology and lets you learn to code apps, music, and games, controlled with hand gestures. The $79.99 Pixel Kit is a DIY light board that lets you draw & code animations, interactive apps and art. You can try Kano Code, the most playful learn-to-code platform, here, and explore community creations here.

“The Source is very excited to be featuring Kano products as part of its gifting line up this holiday season. Not only are they fun but also introduce new skills and learning opportunities,” said Ron Craig, Vice President, Marketing and Operations at The Source.

“Best Buy Canada is excited to partner with Kano in bringing their computer building kits for youth to our stores,” said Zayn Jaffer, Best Buy Canada’s Vice President of Emerging Business. “These products will help youth learn about the physical and software components of computers, while providing invaluable educational skills in coding and programming. These skills are important for future generations to learn early on.”

For videos, please check the Kano YouTube Channel. For other press materials, please click here.

About Kano

Inspired by a challenge from a 6-year-old, Kano creates computer and coding kits for all ages, all over the world. Its mission is to make technology as simple and fun to create as it is to consume. Kano launched the first computer anyone can make on Kickstarter in 2013 – it raised $1.5M, the largest ever ed-tech crowdfunding on the platform, with the backing of thousands of young people, artists, makers and teachers worldwide. It became the UK’s fastest growing tech startup in 2016 and Fast Company’s ninth most innovative company in consumer electronics in 2017.

Unlike other “kid tech” toys, Kano kits let beginners build real devices, and offer a range of learn-to-code environments. It takes makers from block based to real text coding, including Python, JavaScript and Unix commands, and into collaborative coding on the Kano World community platform. Over 200,000 applications and over 33 Million lines of code have been uploaded so far by creators of all ages.

The original build-and-code-your-own computer remains a crowd favorite, with 85% 5 star reviews on Amazon.com and a Net Promoter Score of 55. Kano also works with local communities to bring digital literacy to underserved areas in Africa, Asia, and North America.

The company has been boosted by the involvement and endorsements of customer Steve Wozniak, Pong inventor Al Alcorn, supermodel Karlie Kloss, athlete Novak Djokovic, artist Nile Rodgers, and British Prime Minister Theresa May. Its most recent product is the Computer Kit Complete, a powerful, educational build-your-own laptop for $249.

The London company was co-founded by Saul Klein, Yonatan Raz-Fridman and Alex Klein.

Kano is the recipient of the first ever Cannes Lion for Product Design, Gold; the Red Dot Product Design Award; the Edison Award in Gaming/Computing, Gold; the German Design Award, Gold; the International Design Society of America, Silver; the Webby Award and People’s Voice Award; The International Design Excellence Award, Silver; and D&AD (In Book Award).

Categories: News

Tags: