Kano is a London-based startup that builds hardware designed to teach younger people about computing and coding. The company, known for Raspberry Pi–based DIY kits, has launched the Kano PC, an 11.6-inch touch Windows 10 S device powered by an Intel Atom x5-Z8350 with 4GB of memory and 64GB of storage, priced at $299.99. The Kano PC comes preloaded with Microsoft-supplied software including Make Art, the Kano App, Paint 3D, Minecraft: Education Edition (activated via applicable Microsoft 365 or standalone licenses), Microsoft Teams, and Live Tiles. Kano will continue to support its Raspberry Pi lineup while evaluating future hardware roadmap decisions for that processor; the Kano PC is positioned as a K–12 device. The company has expanded its product range with accessories and toys (for example a buildable, programmable Harry Potter wand) and the founder signaled more similar products are planned. Financially, Kano has raised roughly $50 million from investors and is likely to seek another equity round in the near future. Kano sells build-it-yourself hardware kits and a software platform designed to teach computing and coding to kids and adults, positioning the product as about 80% software and 20% hardware. Its devices are powered by Raspberry Pi boards and sourced components, and the company emphasizes a software-led strategy that could enable future business models such as a marketplace for user-created apps. Kano reports 141,000 devices connected to its network, 227,000 apps written using those devices across 86 countries, and average engagement of 13.5 hours per user in 30 days; the first device shipped in September 2014. The company plans a North American retail push to place its products in 4,500 stores and intends to expand into new product categories including cameras, AI learning tools, and virtual/augmented reality. Kano operates from modest offices in London’s East End and relies on third-party manufacturers for screens, keyboards and other components. The company will keep its apps platform free for now while exploring monetization opportunities as it scales. Kano offers a software platform and DIY computer kits that run on the Raspberry Pi to teach children coding through creative, story-driven projects and a social platform called Kano World. The company ships kits (priced at $149 for the New Kano) and has sold to 86 countries, shipping more than 40,000 kits to over 30,000 customers. Kano builds content and apps for its Kano OS and is developing add-on modular hardware and a power-up kit ($89) to extend older boards into IoT projects. It runs a philanthropic arm, the Kano Academy, and has allocated 1% of company equity to a Foundation, donates 1% of units annually, and plans 1% employee time to Academy work. Kano is focused on expanding product content, partnering in new markets (including India, China, Indonesia and Japan), and scaling hiring to become a global computer company. Kano produces a $99 build-it-yourself computer kit aimed primarily at children that ships in pieces so users can assemble hardware and learn to code. The kit bundles a keyboard, SD card, makeable casing and case mods, a DIY speaker, Level books with projects, games and an operating system. Kano builds its own software — Kano OS (based on Debian Wheezy) — and a Scratch-esque visual coding environment called Kano Blocks. The company launched a Kickstarter campaign that had raised just over $1.4M shortly before closing, after aiming for $100,000 to bring 1,000 kits to market by summer 2014. Kano has also taken seed funding from friends and family to develop the kit over the prior year, including some funding routed via Index Ventures through co-founder Saul Klein. The product is being prepared for global and emerging markets with guidebooks initially in English, Spanish, Arabic and Mandarin and plans to add more languages including Hindi.

Total raised

$43M

Funding rounds

4

Latest round

Series B

Latest activity

Nov 2017