The kids computer company Kano has raised a $15m Series A round led by Breyer Capital, with participation from Collaborative Fund and British economist Jim O’Neill, who has helped the likes of Dell, Facebook and Etsy.
Kano raised the largest-ever Kickstarter round in the UK back in 2013, of $1.5m, and is hoping to raise up to £500,000 from its legions of fans via the equity crowdfunding platform Quire.
The company will use the money to grow its suite of software and hardware products, while scaling in the UK, US and across other key markets.
“The global opportunity for Kano, and the opportunity to make a meaningful difference in the lives of young people around the world, is enormous,” said Jim Breyer, founder and chief executive officer of Breyer Capital. “I am proud to support Kano at this exciting time in the company’s development.”
Kano says it will set aside a ‘golden share’, amounting to 1% of the company’s undiluted equity, to fund its not-for-profit Kano Academy, which seeks to ensure the making and coding kit is accessible to all kids.
The company has also unveiled v.2 of its kit, which comes with a Raspberry Pi 2 and costs $149, while promising to be six-times faster than the first version. Current Kano owners will be able to buy an extension pack to upgrade the older model for $89.