In today’s time, the digital world’s demands mean that the future generation needs to be taught the intricacies of digital science. Coding courses for children, Artificial Intelligence (AI) for education, and robotics for juniors are some of the most popular things that parents want for their kids. Korean startup GeniRobot Co., Ltd. has an interesting solution that can easily teach children some digital values.
Fresh investment and global exports
In June 2021, GeniRobot attracted 700 million won or $617k of ‘Pre-Series A’ investment from IBK Industrial Bank and Korea Credit Guarantee Fund. Genie Robot signed a contract to sell samples and export $840,000 to 15 countries in May 2020, six months after the product was launched. Currently, GeniRobot has signed a contract to establish a joint corporation with a Thai partner, and is expanding into the European market by establishing a joint corporation with a partner in Southeast Asia and Poland next month.
Eunseung Lee, CEO of GeniRobot, said, “As non-face-to-face classes started due to COVID-19, the learning gap is widening, and the polarization of learning is becoming a reality. An environment where students can study on their own is necessary, and “LIMS” will provide customized learning education to each student through personalized learning diagnosis and management.”
He continued, “Based on this investment attraction and government support project, we plan to actively target the education platform market by upgrading the ‘LIMS’ service.”
A smart coding robot for teaching & learning
GeniRobot Co., Ltd. develops, manufactures, and sells the world’s first All-in-one robot “Genibot,” capable of interactive learning based on the BLE 5-star network. Genibot is an educational robot for coding, STEAM, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) education. Genibot is like a smart friend for the child that imparts real-time training and has various activities making technology easier to grasp.
Based on the BLE 5 technology and LIMS (Learning Interactive Management System), Genibot makes communication much more manageable and enables real-time evaluation and expansion. It allows smoother convergence in a non-face-to-face or online lecture environment between teachers and students. The robot has applied industrial technologies, multi-tasking, and accurate functions, and supports English & local languages for users.
‘Genibot’, satisfies the elementary SW curriculum’s core achievement standards, helps to improve creative and convergent thinking that is designed and utilized by itself with systematic activity contents ranging from unplugged and app activities to block programming. It has procured Korea’s genuine SW coding education contents centered on creative thinking through ‘play’ made by KAIST science gifted education experts.
It is also designed so that students with disabilities can easily receive SW education as the primary function of GeniBot. The company has a competitive edge in pricing: 100,000 won, about $ 85 lesser than the coding robot’s current price, which is 200,000 or $ 168.
Sales and marketing plans for future
Major countries in the world have introduced coding education since the beginning of 2000. Korea’s coding education is expected to grow by an average of 23% annually from 2018 because of its early implementation in elementary, middle, and high schools. In 2019, the domestic coding robot market multiplied to over $ 100 million, but it has not secured competitive technology in the market yet. GeniRobot Co., Ltd. plans to cater to the flourishing market and has a goal to sell 45,000 units by 2023 through sales to domestic educational institutions and sell 60,000 units by 2023 through overseas partners.
GeniRobot Co., Ltd. wants to provide devices and content through long-term contracts per semester to kindergartens, elementary schools, and middle schools. The startup also wants to target private academies, cultural centers, and education companies with a large number of student pools. GeniRobot Co., Ltd. intends to lead the trend of Edutech by continuing to develop competitive educational products.
GeniRobot Co., Ltd. participated in the third edition of the “TIPS X beSUCCESS Korean startup showcase” to held online on September 23-24, 2020. TIPS (Tech Incubator Program for startup Korea) is South Korean government-backed incubator, and beSUCCESS is Korea’s leading startup media company. The highly successful first two editions of the startup showcase were held in San Francisco and Palo Alto.
