pi-top develops project-based learning software and Raspberry Pi–based hardware designed to teach coding, robotics and STEAM subjects to schools and learners at home. The company focuses on blending physical computing with traditional computer science education through classroom and at-home products. Founded in 2014 and led by CEO Stanley Buchesky, pi-top is headquartered in London with offices in Austin, Texas and Shenzhen, China. Operational traction includes nearly doubling paying accounts in the first half of 2021 and shipping over 100,000 computing devices and 150,000 accessories worldwide. The business employs 41 people. The recent investment from Tactus Group is positioned to strengthen pi-top’s capabilities in coding and robotics and to provide access to Tactus’s supply-chain expertise and markets including China and the UK. pi-top historically built STEM hardware (including the crowdfunded pi-top 4) and a software platform called Further. The company is pivoting away from proprietary hardware toward a subscription SaaS learning platform (pi-top Further) for teaching coding, robotics and AI. It has faced hardware reliability challenges and has reduced headcount substantially in recent months amid restructuring to focus on the U.S. education market. Management says the business is moving toward SaaS revenues as the bulk of its model and has hired three staff to accelerate the SaaS offering while increasing U.S. headcount. At the start of the year it crowdfunded the pi-top 4 (521 backers pledging close to $200,000) and the device began shipping to backers this week. The company said the recent changes are intended to “bridge towards profitability.” pi-top builds an integrated education platform that combines physical computing hardware, software, curriculum content, training and support for project-based STEAM and computer science education. Its pi-top Learning System is sold as an experiential learning solution and includes hardware, software, curriculum, training and support, often delivered under a three-year contract with subscriptions priced $10,000–$15,000 per year. The company reports products are in more than 2,000 schools worldwide and has manufactured over 100,000 devices. Founded in 2014, pi-top has grown to a team of over 80 people and has offices in London (headquarters), Austin and Shenzhen. Leadership additions and education-focused hires have expanded its capabilities across product, learning research, marketing and commercial operations. pi-top recently closed a $16 million funding round to support manufacturing, marketing, sales and operations as it pursues global growth. pi-top develops Raspberry Pi–powered hardware (the pi-top laptop and the lower-cost pi-topCEED desktop) together with a software stack including pi-topOS, the CEEDUniverse learning game and pi-topCODER to teach coding in a gamified environment. The company targets schools and students (roughly ages 10–16) while also selling to adults and hobbyists; more than 500 schools use pi-top and the products sell in 70 countries. To date pi-top has sold about 11,000 pi-tops ($265 + a Pi) and just over 10,000 pi-topCEEDs ($115 + a Pi); the article also cites a retail price of $149.99 for the CEED. The team grew from two to 26 in 18 months and the company now operates a purpose-built factory in China producing more than 5,000 units per month. pi-top says thousands of students have provided feedback on CEEDUniverse (still in beta) and expects to top more than 75,000 users in 2017. Distribution and partnership channels include 16+ retailers and partners such as BT Education, RS Components, Adafruit and Educomp in India.

Total raised

$24M

Funding rounds

4

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

Nov 2019