New Round was Oversubscribed with Nearly 75% of Investors Carried Over, as Investors Demonstrate Strong Confidence in Company’s Growth Trajectory
TinkRworks, the leading STEAM-curriculum provider to K-8 schools, announced the results of its Series Seed funding round, raising $3.5 million to bring the company’s total funding to $6.5 million. The new capital will accelerate the company’s strategic growth as it continues to innovate in delivering experiential STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) learning opportunities for children.
Nearly 75% of investors in the latest round, which was oversubscribed, carried over from previous funding rounds, demonstrating the strong confidence that education leaders and institutional investors have in TinkRworks’ continued growth at scale. The Series Seed funding will enable the company to double its staff and expand nationally with a new 10,000 square-foot fulfillment, operations and R&D facility.
“As lead investors in the company since its first round of fundraising, we believe that TinkRworks’ holistic approach to delivering compelling, end-to-end STEAM solutions for schools gives it a structural advantage over other curriculum providers in the market,” said Rachel Kern, Vice President at First Trust Capital Partners. “The strength of TinkRworks’ unique programming was proven by its exceptional growth and 100 percent renewal rate over the past year and positions the company for a highly attractive trajectory.”
The Series Seed investment comes on the heels of an extraordinary year for TinkRworks. The company rapidly responded to the pandemic by recasting its curriculum, professional development, STEAM project kits, coding environment and learning platform to enable at-home experiential teaching and learning, while still allowing its core in-school delivery model. The company rolled out this innovative version of its product offerings in May and June of 2020, with adoption quickly taking place across TinkRworks’ customer base across the nation.
“Our ability to successfully pivot and deliver agile, effective solutions to school districts, educators and learners in the midst of massive disruptions provided ample confirmation that it was time for us to scale,” said Dr. Anu Manajan, Co-Founder, President, and CEO of TinkRworks. “The latest funding round will enable us to build on our relentless commitment to develop innovative products that make STEAM and experiential learning more accessible and equitable for all students.”
TinkRworks uses a train-the-trainer methodology to certify instructors from schools and social service organizations to deliver STEAM instruction directly to students using dynamic projects. Once instructors are trained and certified, they deliver the company’s STEAM kits directly to students in classrooms, remotely or in makerspaces, using a combination of TinkRworks’ curriculum, its online learning environment and its project materials. Using their learnings from school along with the new concepts layered in by their instructors, students create solutions and bring them to life using lights, sounds and motion, all of which they code themselves.
“Gaining problem-solving experience is essential for success in college, careers and life, but nowhere within the domain of schools or after-school enrichment programs are students given the support and opportunity to physically create personalized STEAM solutions,” said Gil Levendel, Co-Founder and Chief Product & Technology Officer of TinkRworks. “Our program was clearly important during the pandemic because students suffered from Zoom fatigue, but we believe that children need hands-on, experiential learning to augment their classroom experiences at all times and under all conditions.”
TinkRworks will apply its Series Seed funding to increase its partner base of schools and social-services organizations over the coming year, with innovative products that provide students with STEAM learning opportunities to spark creativity, improve critical thinking and enable them to solve problems using their minds and their hands.