MobLab
MobLab builds interactive behavioral-economics games and online experiments for higher-education instructors and academic researchers, offering a 60+ game library, LMS integrations, and a verified 300,000+ student research participant pool via its Classroom and Research platforms.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2011
- HeadquartersPasadena, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What MobLab does
MobLab Inc. is a private education-technology company founded in 2011 and headquartered in Pasadena, California, with additional offices in Chengdu and Taipei. The company builds interactive behavioral-economics games and online experiments for higher-education instructors and academic researchers. Its core products are MobLab Classroom, a self-serve platform offering 60+ interactive games and simulations covering game theory, public goods, auctions, market games, and related topics with built-in gradebook and roster syncing; MobLab Research, a participant-recruitment platform that gives academic researchers access to a pool of 300,000+ verified college students for IRB-compliant behavioral studies; and ancillary modules such as Public Goods Online Assignments, Surveys with video embedding, and LMS-grade integrations.
Underlying technology combines a browser-based experimentation engine, LMS integrations with Blackboard, Canvas, and Cengage MindTap, and a recent AI layer (Be.FM, an open-source foundation model fine-tuned on MobLab behavioral data) that supports prediction, simulation, and categorization of human strategic behavior. Revenue is generated via a freemium model — free academic instructor access at K-12 and non-profit institutions for instructional use, paid classroom subscriptions starting at $12 per student per term, research platform subscription fees paid by academic researchers, and pass-through participant compensation ($12-$30/hour) routed to student participants. Customers include leading institutions such as Stanford, Harvard, Caltech, Yale, NYU, UC Berkeley, and the University of Michigan; the company is backed by Learn Capital, MagniPro, Lanxum, AI List Capital, and New Oriental Education & Technology Group, the last of which holds a board seat and signaled APAC expansion ambitions via the Chengdu and Taipei offices.
MobLab firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- MobLab
- Legal name
- MobLab Inc.
- Website
- https://moblab.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2011
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- MobLab builds interactive behavioral-economics games and online experiments for higher-education instructors and academic researchers, offering a 60+ game library, LMS integrations, and a verified 300,000+ student research participant pool via its Classroom and Research platforms.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
MobLab industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Education Technology / Behavioral Economics Software
- NAICS
- Business Schools and Computer and Management Training (6114), Educational Support Services (61171)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Group & Class-Based Live Tutoring Platforms (EDANAGAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Core LMS Platforms (Academic & Corporate) (EDAFAAAA), AI & Machine Learning (Foundations & Applied) (EDAMACAG)
Keywords
Where MobLab is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Pasadena
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
MobLab business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Classroom Subscription - Per Student: Paid subscription model where instructors purchase class licenses at $12 per student per term. Plans starting for as little as $12 per student for online and in-person classes.
- Research Platform Fees: Researchers pay platform fees to recruit verified college participants for academic-grade research. A 25% discount is applied to the platform fee for studies launched in 2026.
- Free Academic Access: Free access provided to academic instructors (faculty members, instructors, graduate student instructors at K-12 schools and non-profit colleges/universities) for instructional purposes. Premium features available for paid plans.
- Participant Payments: College students earn $12-30/hour for participating in research studies. Participants receive payments via PayPal within 3-5 business days.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Annual | Free Academic Plan |
| Subscription | Annual | Classroom Plans starting at $12/student |
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | Participant Earning Rate |
| Subscription | Pay-as-you-go | Research Platform |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels7 records
MobLab product offering
Product offeringCore offering
MobLab operates an online behavioral economics platform that delivers 60+ interactive classroom games and research experiments for university and K-12 instructors, academic researchers, and student participants. The company offers two primary products: MobLab Classroom (free for instructors, paid for student access) and MobLab Research (a paid platform for academic researchers with a verified pool of 300,000+ student participants). The platform integrates with major LMS systems and supports real-time analytics for game-based learning and experimental economics research.
Product overview
MobLab is an educational technology platform offering interactive economics games and behavioral experiments for classroom instruction and academic research. The core product portfolio consists of three main offerings: MobLab Classroom (60+ economics games for instructors), MobLab Research/Participant (paid research participation for students), and MobLab Research/Researcher (academic-grade participant recruitment platform). Supporting modules include Online Assignments, Surveys with video embedding, Public Goods Module, and Game Maps for textbook alignment. The platform integrates with LMS systems (Blackboard, Canvas) and research tools (Qualtrics, oTree, Google Forms). The company has expanded into AI Behavioral Science with the open Be.FM foundation model for human behavior modeling.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- MobLab Classroom: Online economics games and simulations for classroom instruction, featuring 60+ games and simulations for teaching economics, social science, business, and strategic thinking.
- MobLab Research
- MobLab Kids
Products and services
- MobLab Classroom An online platform offering 60+ behavioral economics games and experiments designed for university and K-12 instructors. Instructors can access the platform for free and integrate interactive games into their economics, psychology, and business courses via LMS integration with Blackboard, Canvas, Cengage, and Schoology.
- MobLab Research (Researcher)
Quantifiable outcome
- Classes using games and experiments are more effective because students EXPERIENCE what they're learning
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use MobLab
Customer profileNamed customers16 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
MobLab technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration5 records
AI capability10 records
Feature7 records
MobLab partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- BlackboardcoreLMS integration partner. Built-in gradebook and roster easily syncs with Blackboard for seamless classroom management.
- CanvascoreLMS integration partner. Built-in gradebook and roster easily syncs with Canvas for seamless classroom management.
- Cengage MindTapcoreMobLab Interactive Experiments available through Cengage MindTap online learning platform, enabling seamless integration for Cengage textbook users.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
MobLab competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- oTree: Open-source platform for behavioral economics experiments developed at the University of Zurich. oTree is widely used by academic researchers for online experiments and integrates with MobLab, representing the closest direct competitor in the research experiment tooling space.
- Prolific: Online research participant recruitment platform with a large pool of verified participants for academic and commercial research. Prolific directly competes with MobLab Research for researcher recruitment budgets and verified participant access.
- SONA Systems: Participant pool management system widely used by university psychology and economics research labs for recruiting and tracking student participants. SONA is a direct competitor to MobLab Research's verified participant pool offering.
- Inquisit by Millisecond: Commercial platform for running computerized psychology and behavioral experiments with millisecond-precise response timing. Inquisit competes directly with MobLab in academic behavioral research methodology.
- LabVanced: Online platform for creating and running behavioral experiments and surveys, used by academic researchers worldwide. LabVanced offers overlapping capabilities to MobLab Research for online behavioral study deployment.
- z-Tree (University of Zurich): Zurich Toolbox for Readymade Economic Experiments, an open-source software package for running economics experiments in lab settings. z-Tree is a foundational direct competitor in experimental economics that MobLab explicitly aims to upgrade with online and mobile delivery.
Broad incumbents
- Qualtrics: Enterprise experience management and survey platform with significant presence in academic research. Qualtrics is both a MobLab integration partner and a broader incumbent whose survey capabilities overlap with MobLab's survey and research tooling.
- Coglab (Cengage): Online cognitive psychology experiments platform distributed through Cengage, MobLab's publisher partner. Coglab overlaps with MobLab Classroom in delivering interactive psychology and behavioral science experiments to higher-ed courses.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
MobLab social profiles
Digital presenceMobLab compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
MobLab financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
MobLab leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles17 records
MobLab funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
MobLab M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about MobLab
What does MobLab do?
MobLab operates an online behavioral economics platform that delivers 60+ interactive classroom games and research experiments for university and K-12 instructors, academic researchers, and student participants. The company offers two primary products: MobLab Classroom (free for instructors, paid for student access) and MobLab Research (a paid platform for academic researchers with a verified pool of 300,000+ student participants). The platform integrates with major LMS systems and supports real-time analytics for game-based learning and experimental economics research.
Is MobLab a public or private company?
MobLab is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was MobLab founded?
MobLab was founded in 2011. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is MobLab based?
MobLab is headquartered in Pasadena, United States, in the North America region.
How does MobLab make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Classroom Subscription - Per Student is the primary driver. The others are research Platform Fees, free Academic Access and participant Payments.
Who are MobLab's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are oTree, Prolific, SONA Systems, Inquisit by Millisecond, LabVanced and z-Tree (University of Zurich). Broad incumbents are Qualtrics and Coglab (Cengage).
Does MobLab have an API?
No public API is recorded for MobLab.
What industry is MobLab in?
MobLab's product category is Education Technology / Behavioral Economics Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDANAGAB, Group & Class-Based Live Tutoring Platforms, with a secondary code of EDAFAAAA, Core LMS Platforms (Academic & Corporate). Its NAICS code is 6114 and its SIC code is 8200.