What Killer Snails LLC does

Killer Snails LLC is a Brooklyn-based for-profit education technology company that builds award-winning immersive science learning experiences for K-12 students in grades 3-10. The company's product portfolio centers on extended reality — virtual reality, augmented reality, and WebXR — combined with tabletop card games and digital science journals. Core products include BioDive (a VR/digital hybrid where students role-play marine biologists investigating venomous cone snails), WaterWays (an AR/digital environmental-science experience for grades 3-5 with five modules covering plastic pollution, water quality, the Urban Heat Island effect, and marine biodiversity), Venom CoLab (a collaborative AR/WebVR inquiry-based platform for grades 6-9 in which students adopt scientist roles to study venomous organisms and their medical applications), the Assassins of the Sea and Biome Builder card games, and the Scuba Adventure Philippines VR experience. Trend Trackers, a problem-based learning platform for grades 7-10, entered development in 2025. The platform holds U.S. patent 11,763,691 B1 covering extended-reality educational experiences and has received third-party validation including ESSA Tier 2 certification for Venom CoLab based on a randomized controlled trial of 699 students across 32 classrooms.

The business operates a hybrid revenue model combining direct-to-consumer e-commerce on killersnails.com, mobile app stores (App Store and Google Play), seat-based subscriptions for classrooms ($9.99-$14.99 per seat), individual module and bundle purchases ($1.99-$14.99), and physical card game sales ($24.99). Institutional distribution is layered through BOCES-affiliated sales and a 2025 distribution partnership with Locket by Games and Learning. A significant portion of capital is non-dilutive SBIR grant funding from NIH (including R44GM146490), NSF, and IES, which funds product development rather than signaling commercial scale. Go-to-market relies heavily on community engagement with educators, conference presence (TED, Games for Change, ASU-GSV, Science Teachers Association of NY), and earned media (Forbes, Bloomberg, New York Times, Science Friday). The customer base is concentrated in U.S. K-12 schools and districts, with named institutional partners including the American Museum of Natural History, Wildlife Conservation Society, Hudson River Park, Mount Sinai's HEALS Center, Google Career Expeditions, and the TED Store. Leadership consists of co-founders Jessica Ochoa Hendrix (CEO, 2022 SBA New York Small Business Person of the Year) and Dr. Mandë Holford (Chief Science Officer, Harvard professor, 2023 NIH Pioneer Award recipient), supported by a small team of approximately eight identified staff.

Name

Killer Snails LLC

Legal name

Killer Snails LLC

Website

https://killersnails.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Killer Snails LLC develops award-winning immersive science learning experiences for U.S. K-12 students in grades 3-10, combining VR, AR, and WebXR technology with card games and educator dashboards to teach STEM through real-world venom and environmental research.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Technology Software

NAICS

Doll, Toy, and Game Manufacturing (33993), Software Publishers (5132), Hobby, Toy, and Game Retailers (45912)

SIC

Games, Toys & Children's Vehicles (No Dolls & Bicycles) (3944)

akta.pro primary industry

Simulation & Scenario-Based Learning Authoring (EDAFAHAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Creator Tools & Content Pipelines for Immersive Learning (VR lesson builders, 3D asset workflows) (EDAFAJAL)

Keywords

• Educational games
• Immersive science learning
• Virtual reality education
• Augmented reality learning
• K-12 STEM curriculum

Headquarters

HQ city

Brooklyn

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Digital Product Sales: Subscription/per-seat model for digital experiences (BioDive, WaterWays, Venom CoLab) sold directly through killersnails.com with seat-based pricing. One-time purchases for individual WaterWays modules.
2. Physical Product Sales: One-time purchase of card games including Assassins of the Sea ($24.99) and Biome Builder. Physical products ship to customers.
3. App Store Distribution: Digital games like Scuba Adventure Philippines available on App Store and Google Play with individual purchase pricing.
4. Research Grants: Small Business Innovation Research grants from NIH (National Institute of General Medical Sciences, R44GM146490) and NSF funding for product development.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Killer Snails LLC develops award-winning immersive science learning experiences that combine educational games, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and WebXR digital platforms for K-12 students. The company's core offerings include subscription-based seat licenses for classrooms and digital experiences, plus a line of physical science-themed card games. Their products align with NGSS standards and are used in both formal classroom settings and informal consumer contexts.

Product overview

Killer Snails LLC offers an award-winning portfolio of immersive science experiences for students in grades 3-10, combining educational games, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and digital experiences. The core products include BioDive (VR/digital hybrid for marine biology), WaterWays (AR environmental science with 5 modules), Assassins of the Sea (card game), Biome Builder (card game), Scuba Adventure: Philippines (VR experience), and Venom CoLab (collaborative AR/VR science platform with 4 organism-based modules). The company targets STEM education with products aligned to NGSS, featuring interactive simulations, AR experiences, and educator dashboards. Products are distributed via the company website with seat-based subscriptions for classrooms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BioDive: Virtual reality/digital experience where students become marine biologists investigating venomous marine snails and their ecosystems.
• WaterWays
• Assassins of the Sea
• Biome Builder
• Scuba Adventure
• Venom CoLab

Products and services

• BioDive BioDive is a VR and digital experience for exploring marine biology concepts; designed for middle school students aligned with NGSS standards.
• WaterWays

Quantifiable outcome

• 76% of students reported that WaterWays helped them see themselves as scientists
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 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

Feature4 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered minor, core and flagship.

• Locket by Games and LearningminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2025New distributor partnership in 2025 for Killer Snails products.
• Marcy PeakcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Third-party research organization conducted randomized control trial with 699-1200+ students for ESSA Tier 2 certification of Venom CoLab.
• WestEdcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Conducted implementation study of WaterWays with 13 teachers and 216 students across 4 schools.
• Wildlife Conservation SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Collaborated with Wildlife Conservation Society to develop WaterWays immersive science experience for grades 3-5 focusing on environmental science topics.
• Hudson River ParkcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Collaboration on WaterWays development with Hudson River Park, ensuring place-based learning connected to actual waterfront environment.
• Mount Sinai's Transdisciplinary Center for Early Environmental ExposurecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Developed WaterWays in collaboration with Mount Sinai's Center on Health and Environment Across the LifeSpan (HEALS) with NIH funding support.
• TEDflagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2019TED Residency program for Jessica Ochoa Hendrix (2019). Both co-founders delivered TED Talks. Products featured in TED Store. Return engagement at TED 2026.
• GoogleflagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 8 March 2017Featured in Google Career Expedition VR series. Co-founder Dr. Mandë Holford selected as 1 of 40 women in STEM for International Women's Day 2017. Google Expeditions program reached 2M+ students.
• American Museum of Natural HistorycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Made in partnership with the American Museum of Natural History for Assassins of the Sea card game. Co-developer of educational content around venom research and marine biology.
• New York Hall of ScienceminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Partner since 2016 for creating educational content and sharing at events.
• Science FridayminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2016Featured partner in Science Friday media coverage of educational gaming.
• Queens Public LibraryminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Community partnership for sharing WaterWays at events and reaching families.
• Gaia ScholasticminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Educational content partnership since 2016.
• New York AquariumminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Partnership for educational content and community outreach.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Labster: Labster provides immersive VR science lab simulations for K-12 and higher education. It competes directly with Killer Snails' BioDive and Venom CoLab in delivering VR-based science learning experiences, though Labster's catalog is broader across biology, chemistry, and physics.
• MEL Science: MEL Science produces VR science lessons and hands-on experiment kits for K-12, with a subscription model similar to Killer Snails' BioDive and Venom CoLab. Both companies blend physical and digital science experiences aligned to NGSS-style standards.
• Tinybop: Tinybop creates award-winning educational apps and games for kids that explore science and nature. Like Killer Snails, it combines narrative design, interactive digital experiences, and consumer-direct sales, with comparable target grade bands.
• Curiscope: Curiscope produces AR-enhanced educational products including the Virtuali-Tee and lesson plans for K-12 science. It directly competes with Killer Snails in the AR-augmented science learning category, targeting the same teachers and grade levels.

Broad incumbents

• Discovery Education: Discovery Education is a major K-12 digital curriculum provider with immersive video and interactive content across science subjects. As a broad incumbent, it competes for the same district curriculum dollars Killer Snails targets, offering a much wider product portfolio but less depth in NGSS-aligned immersive science.
• Nearpod: Nearpod offers interactive K-12 lessons including VR field trips and 3D objects, sold to districts via seat licenses. It overlaps with WaterWays and BioDive as an immersive-content alternative but with broader subject coverage and a much larger sales organization.

Emerging players

• Merge EDU: Merge EDU sells augmented reality tools and curriculum for K-12 STEM classrooms, including a Merge Cube and licensed apps. Its AR science experiences compete with Killer Snails' WaterWays and Venom CoLab in the AR-driven classroom segment.
• zSpace: zSpace provides AR/VR workstations and STEM content for K-12 schools. Its immersive science labs compete with Killer Snails' BioDive and Venom CoLab for hardware-equipped classroom budgets, though zSpace's business is hardware-anchored.
• Lifeliqe: Lifeliqe offers interactive 3D models and VR content for K-12 STEM. It targets similar NGSS-aligned curriculum adoption pathways and competes for the same district immersive-content budgets as Killer Snails' WaterWays and Venom CoLab.

Others

• WestEd: WestEd is a non-profit education research organization that conducted the WaterWays implementation study for Killer Snails. While not a competitor, it is a relevant ecosystem participant because its evaluation work underpins Killer Snails' evidence-based claims and procurement positioning.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/killersnails1
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCgJoTEQUIKiVFAJ6qKvfMZQ
• Instagraminstagram.com/killersnailsgames
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/killer-snails-llc

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors2 records

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 Killer Snails LLC