Tanoshi

What Tanoshi does

Tanoshi was a Black-led, Oakland-based consumer electronics startup that designed, marketed, and sold a single product: a 2-in-1 computer/tablet hybrid device built specifically for school-age children ages 5 and up. The company combined tablet portability with full computer functionality and wrapped it in a pre-teen-friendly hardware and software user experience aimed at developing digital literacy and citizenship skills. Tanoshi launched this device in 2017 and positioned itself as a category creator in age-appropriate educational computing hardware.

The business model was direct-to-consumer hardware sales through an online storefront, supplemented by donations distributed via nonprofit partners including the Bresee Foundation, Girls Inc., and iFoster. Over its operating life, Tanoshi sold more than 17,000 computers to families and distributed over 800 devices free of charge to children in under-resourced communities. The company generated national brand awareness through a 2020 appearance on Shark Tank that produced millions of online views and hundreds of parent and educator testimonials, and it received a $100,000 Google for Startups Black Founders Fund grant in September 2022.

Despite these milestones, Tanoshi operated as a single-SKU hardware company with limited disclosed capital (roughly $356K across all documented funding rounds) and shut down operations in 2022, stating that harsh economic realities made continuation impossible. The company was led by co-founders Brad Johnston (CEO), Greg Smith, and Josh Traub (COO/General Counsel), with a small leadership team spanning product, supply chain, sales, and finance. No AI/ML capabilities, recurring software revenue stream, or institutional venture backing were disclosed.

Name

Tanoshi

Legal name

Tanoshi

Website

https://tanoshikidscomputers.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Tanoshi was a Black-led Oakland-based consumer electronics startup that designed and sold a 2-in-1 computer/tablet for school-age children, serving families through direct online sales and underserved youth through nonprofit partnerships, until its 2022 closure.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Children's Consumer Electronics

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Electronic Computers (3571)

akta.pro primary industry

Kids & Education Tablets (CRACAMAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Education Tablets (HDACAMAC)

Keywords

• Children's computer devices
• Educational tablets
• Kid-friendly laptops
• Consumer electronics for kids
• Digital literacy devices

Headquarters

HQ city

Oakland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Hardware Sales: One-time sales of consumer electronic products (2-in-1 computers/tablets for children). Revenue was generated from direct consumer purchases of the hardware devices.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Tanoshi developed and sold a one-of-a-kind 2-in-1 computer/tablet device designed specifically for school-age children (ages 5+). The product combined a tablet form factor with full computer functionality, paired with a pre-teen friendly software user experience, to help kids develop computing and digital citizenship skills. The company also distributed more than 800 units free of charge to under-resourced children through nonprofit partnerships.

Product overview

Tanoshi was a single-product company that developed fun, safe, and educational consumer electronic products for school-age children. The company's sole product was the Tanoshi 2-in-1 Computer/Tablet for Kids, launched in 2017. This device represented a new category of child-focused computers designed to make digital literacy accessible, affordable, and fun for children. The company operated with a mission to bridge the digital learning gap and empower children with computing and digital citizenship skills. Tanoshi has since shut down operations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Tanoshi 2-in-1 Computer/Tablet for Kids A 2-in-1 computer/tablet hybrid device designed for school-age children (ages 5+) that provided a fun, age-appropriate, and educational computing experience, helping kids develop digital literacy and computing skills. The product was sold directly to families and individual consumers through the company's online storefront, with more than 17,000 units sold before the company shut down operations in 2022.

Quantifiable outcome

• Sold over 17,000 computers to families
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Bresee FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTanoshi partnered with the Bresee Foundation, a nonprofit organization, to distribute computers free of charge to children from under-resourced communities. This partnership supported Tanoshi's mission of providing digital literacy opportunities to underserved children.
• Girls Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTanoshi partnered with Girls Inc., a national nonprofit dedicated to inspiring all girls to be strong, smart, and bold, to donate computers to girls from underserved communities as part of the company's mission to bridge the digital learning gap.
• iFostercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTanoshi partnered with iFoster, a nonprofit serving foster youth, to provide computers to children in foster care. This partnership helped extend digital access to one of the most underserved youth populations.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• LeapFrog (VTech): LeapFrog is the dominant direct competitor in kids' educational devices, producing purpose-built tablets and learning computers for school-age children — the same category Tanoshi pioneered.
• Amazon Fire Kids Edition: Amazon's kid-focused tablet line competes head-to-head in child-friendly hardware with ruggedized cases, parental controls, and curated content — directly overlapping Tanoshi's 2-in-1 for-kids proposition.
• Samsung Galaxy Tab Kids: Samsung's kid-oriented tablet variants compete in the same age-appropriate tablet category for school-age children, with similar parental control and educational content positioning.

Broad incumbents

• VTech: VTech is LeapFrog's parent and a broad incumbent in educational electronics and learning toys for children, offering a wider portfolio than Tanoshi's single-product focus.
• Apple iPad: Apple's iPad, used by families with parental controls and education apps, is the dominant general-purpose tablet that parents often consider as an alternative to kid-specific devices like Tanoshi's.
• Microsoft Surface Go: Microsoft's Surface Go offers a 2-in-1 form factor with touch and keyboard, overlapping Tanoshi's hybrid computer/tablet design and competing in education and family use cases.
• Lenovo IdeaPad Duet: Lenovo's 2-in-1 detachable laptops/tablets offer similar hybrid form factor to Tanoshi's product at competitive price points, serving students and families broadly.
• HP Chromebook Education: HP's education Chromebooks target the K–12 device market, competing in the same school-age computing category with strong institutional distribution advantages.
• Google Chromebook: Google's Chromebook ecosystem, including 1:1 school programs, dominates education device deployment and competes for the same digital literacy use case Tanoshi targeted.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TanoshiKids
• Facebookfacebook.com/tanoshikidscomputers

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Tanoshi