What Iridescent does

Iridescent (now operating as Technovation) is a 501c3 nonprofit organization founded in 2006 by Tara Chklovski, headquartered in Los Angeles with additional offices in the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City. The organization designs and delivers technology and engineering education programs for girls aged 10–18 and their families, primarily in underserved communities. Its three core programs are Technovation (a global mobile-app entrepreneurship competition for girls), Curiosity Machine (a cloud-based engineering design platform that connects children with mentors), and the AI Family Challenge (a family-oriented AI literacy curriculum). Programs are delivered through a hybrid model: in-person curriculum in schools (anchored by an LAUSD partnership), community organizations (City Year), and university-hosted mentorship (USC Viterbi, UCLA), alongside self-serve online access via Curiosity Machine. All programs are free to participants; the organization sustains operations through multi-year corporate sponsorships, foundation grants, and individual donations rather than participant fees.

The underlying technology stack is a cloud-based education platform supporting project-based learning curriculum delivery, mentor matching, and mobile app development tooling for participants. Notable proprietary components include the Curiosity Machine platform (engineering design challenges with mentor feedback), the AI Family Challenge structured curriculum, and the Technovation program platform supporting girls in building mobile applications for social impact. The organization does not expose public APIs or SDKs and reports api_exists: false. Corporate and foundation partnerships are deep and broad: thirteen named enterprise sponsors span technology (Google, Salesforce, Adobe, NVIDIA, Oracle, Intuit, GoDaddy, Laserfiche), mobility (Uber, General Motors), life sciences (Genentech), and industrial (Boeing, Cummins), complemented by foundation relationships with the McGovern Foundation, INCO, and UNESCO MGIEP, and a strategic partnership with UN Women. Per the firmographics, Iridescent employs 11–50 staff and reports no parent company, subsidiaries, or external investment funding; the only disclosed funding event is a $500,000 Google contribution in May 2019.

Name

Iridescent

Legal name

Iridescent

Website

https://iridescentlearning.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Iridescent (operating as Technovation) is a 501c3 nonprofit that delivers free technology, engineering, and AI literacy education programs to underserved girls and families globally. It operates Technovation (girls' app entrepreneurship), Curiosity Machine (engineering mentorship platform), and the AI Family Challenge, funded by corporate sponsors and foundations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

STEM Education Services

NAICS

Educational Services (611), Educational Support Services (611710), Computer Training (61142)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Maker / DIY Electronics & Physical Computing Platforms (EDAFANAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Children’s & Youth Educational Entertainment (Edutainment) (EDAGALAK), Youth-to-Adult Transition & Life Skills (Independent Living, Soft Skills) (EDAAAFAN)

Keywords

• STEM education
• Technology entrepreneurship
• AI literacy
• Girls in tech
• Mentorship programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Corporate Partnerships and Sponsorships: Major technology companies (Google, Salesforce, Adobe, NVIDIA, Oracle, Uber, General Motors, Intuit, Boeing, Genentech, Cummins, Laserfiche, GoDaddy) provide funding, employee volunteers as mentors, and in-kind support for programs. These are multi-year strategic partnerships typically involving financial contributions, employee engagement programs, and programmatic sponsorship.
2. Foundation Grants: Funding from foundations including McGovern Foundation, INCO, and MGIEP (UNESCO) supporting specific program initiatives and expansion efforts.
3. Individual Donations: Direct donations from individuals supporting the nonprofit mission of technology education for girls and underserved communities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Iridescent (now Technovation) operates three free educational programs for girls and families in underserved communities: Technovation (a global technology entrepreneurship program where girls build mobile apps to address community problems), Curiosity Machine (an online engineering design platform pairing children with mentors), and the AI Family Challenge (a structured curriculum teaching families AI concepts through hands-on projects). All programs are offered at no cost and delivered through a mix of in-school, community-based, and online channels.

Product overview

Iridescent (now Technovation) is an educational nonprofit organization offering technology education programs for girls and families. The organization operates three core programs: Technovation (a global technology entrepreneurship program for girls), Curiosity Machine (an online engineering education platform with mentorship), and The AI Family Challenge (an AI education initiative for families). These programs support underrepresented young people, especially girls, in developing technology-based solutions to community problems through engineering design challenges, mentorship, and hands-on learning experiences.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Technovation: Global technology entrepreneurship program for girls
• Curiosity Machine
• AI Family Challenge

Products and services

• Technovation Technovation is the global technology entrepreneurship program for girls, challenging teams of girls aged 10-18 to develop mobile applications that address real problems in their local communities. The program pairs participants with industry mentors and runs an annual global competition.
• Curiosity Machine An online learning platform that provides children with hands-on engineering design projects and connects them to mentors who give feedback on how to improve their projects. It supports AI literacy and family engagement in STEM learning.
• AI Family Challenge An initiative that invites families to learn about Artificial Intelligence technology together and solve problems in their communities. The program delivers a structured curriculum enabling families to learn AI concepts through interactive projects and mentorship support.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1,400+ girls served since 2010
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

19 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and supporting.

• GooglecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerMajor corporate sponsor providing funding, employee volunteers as mentors, and promotional support for Technovation programs globally.
• SalesforcecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner supporting Technovation through financial contributions, employee volunteerism, and technology platform resources.
• AdobecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate sponsor providing funding and employee engagement as mentors for Technovation participants.
• NVIDIAcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerTechnology partner supporting AI education initiatives and providing technical mentorship to program participants.
• OraclemajorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate sponsor supporting Technovation programs and providing employee volunteers for mentorship.
• UbermajorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner providing funding and employee engagement for technology education programs.
• General MotorsmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate sponsor supporting STEM education initiatives and providing mentorship volunteers.
• IntuitmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner supporting entrepreneurship education and providing volunteer mentors.
• BoeingmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate sponsor providing funding and employee volunteer support for Technovation programs.
• GenentechmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner supporting STEM education and providing employee volunteers as mentors.
• CumminssupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate sponsor providing funding for technology education programs.
• LaserfichesupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner supporting Technovation programs and employee engagement.
• GoDaddysupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate sponsor providing funding and entrepreneurship mentorship.
• MGIEP (UNESCO)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNESCO institute partner supporting AI education initiatives and providing international credibility and reach.
• UN WomenmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership advancing gender equality through technology education for girls and women.
• USC Viterbi School of EngineeringcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner providing undergraduate mentors for Technovation programs in Los Angeles schools, supporting both mentorship and pipeline development.
• UCLAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner providing engineering student mentors for school-based Technovation programs in underserved communities.
• Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSchool district partnership delivering Technovation curriculum to students in South Los Angeles through after-school programs.
• City YearmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducation nonprofit partner providing student support and mentorship alongside Technovation curriculum delivery.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• DIY.org: Online learning platform offering maker, engineering, and technology challenges for kids with mentor and community feedback. Highly comparable to Iridescent's Curiosity Machine engineering design challenges and mentor-matching mechanics.
• Sphero Education: Education business unit offering programmable robots and STEM kits used in K–12 classrooms. Adjacent in maker/physical-computing pedagogy and teacher-distribution model, providing comparison points for hardware-anchored STEM curriculum delivery.
• EngineerGirl: National Academies-led program encouraging girls to pursue engineering through profiles, resources, and contests. Highly aligned with Iridescent's girls-in-engineering mission but reaches a smaller program-scale footprint.

Direct peers

• Black Girls Code: Nonprofit providing girls of color with technology education in subjects like coding, robotics, AI, and web development. Comparable free-to-participant model, similar partnership pattern with major tech firms, and adjacent mission around girls-in-tech equity.
• Girls Who Code: Nonprofit focused on closing the gender gap in technology through free coding education for girls and college-age young women. Operates sister-club, summer immersion, and college programs — directly competitive with Technovation for the same girls-in-tech nonprofit donor pool and corporate-sponsorship dollars.
• Code.org: 501c3 dedicated to expanding access to computer science in K–12 schools through free curricula, teacher training, and the Hour of Code campaign. Overlaps Iridescent on free K–12 CS curriculum delivery, school-district partnerships, and corporate-tech funding sources.
• STEM From Dance: Nonprofit combining STEM education with dance to engage girls of color in science and technology. Sharply smaller scale than Iridescent, but overlaps directly on the girls-in-STEM, mentorship-driven, underserved-youth mission space.

Broad incumbents

• Project Lead The Way: Large established nonprofit providing K–12 STEM, computer science, and biomedical curriculum with deep school-district integration. Competes with Iridescent for the same school-district adoption and curriculum-integration slot, but at substantially broader scale.
• Khan Academy: Major free online education nonprofit offering K–12 computer programming, AI, and STEM content at global scale. Overlaps with Iridescent's free self-serve online learning model and donor universe, though serving a much broader subject set.

Others

• CSforAll Consortium: Cross-sector coalition of nonprofits, districts, and industry partners advancing K–12 computer science access. Operates in the same ecosystem as Iridescent and may act more as a complementary convening body than a direct competitor, but influences funding flows.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/IridescentLA
• Facebookfacebook.com/ImagineInventEngineer
• Instagraminstagram.com/technovationglobal
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/709479

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

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 Iridescent