Kiko Labs

What Kiko Labs does

Kiko Labs, Inc. is a San Carlos, California-based private company founded in 2013 that develops Kiko's Thinking Time, a neuroscience-based adaptive cognitive training program for early learners aged 3-7. The product is built around a suite of 25 mini-games that translate validated neuropsychological tasks into adaptive exercises targeting executive functions (working memory, inhibition, focus, cognitive flexibility), reasoning, and spatial skills. The platform includes an in-app dashboard and a web-based reporting portal for parents, teachers, and caregivers, and the content was developed in collaboration with neuroscientists from Harvard and UC Berkeley. The product is available on iOS, Android tablets, and desktop browsers.

Kiko Labs operates a hybrid business model. On the consumer side, the app is offered as a freemium download with a premium subscription of $7.99 per month or $49.99 per year unlocking all games plus monthly new content. On the institutional side, the company licenses Kiko's Thinking Time to schools and districts at $2,000 per school per year, sold both directly and through a channel partnership with Scientific Learning Corp as a complement to its Fast ForWord K-12 reading program. Distribution also leverages partnerships with Reflection Sciences (for pairing with the MEFS executive function assessment) and research validation from WestEd. The company has 1-10 employees and has historically been supported by U.S. Department of Education SBIR Phase I and II grants, a $225,000 National Science Foundation grant, and accelerator backing from co.lab (Zynga.org and NewSchools Venture Fund).

Name

Kiko Labs

Legal name

Kiko Labs, Inc.

Website

https://kikolabs.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Kiko Labs builds Kiko's Thinking Time, a neuroscience-based adaptive cognitive training app targeting executive function, reasoning, and spatial skills in early learners aged 3-7, sold via consumer freemium subscriptions and school/district licenses through Scientific Learning Corp.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cognitive Training Software

NAICS

Exam Preparation and Tutoring (611691), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Adaptive Learning & Personalized Instruction Software (EDAJAMAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Assessment, Testing & Analytics Platforms (Formative/Summative) (EDAJAMAC), Literacy & Reading Intervention Technology (EDAJAMAF)

Keywords

• Adaptive learning games
• Cognitive training software
• Executive function training
• Educational mobile apps
• School readiness programs

Headquarters

HQ city

San Carlos

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Consumer App Subscription (Freemium): Free basic access with premium upgrade to unlimited games and monthly new content additions. Consumer pricing targets parents of early learners.
2. Consumer Subscription Premium: Unlimited access to all games plus one new game added monthly. Billed monthly or annually.
3. School/District Site License: Direct sales to schools and districts for institutional deployment. Sold at $2,000 per school for a one-year license. Also distributed through Scientific Learning Corp partnership.
4. Channel Distribution Revenue: Revenue generated through Scientific Learning Corp partnership for Pre-K programs targeting low-income communities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Kiko Labs develops and sells Kiko's Thinking Time, a neuroscience-based adaptive cognitive training program consisting of 25 mini-games that exercise executive functions (working memory, inhibition, focus, cognitive flexibility) as well as reasoning and spatial skills in early learners aged 3-7. The product is delivered as a cross-platform app (iOS, Android, desktop browsers) sold to parents via a freemium subscription and to schools and districts via annual site licenses distributed through direct sales and a Scientific Learning Corp channel partnership.

Product overview

Kiko Labs offers a single flagship product called Kiko's Thinking Time, a neuroscience-based adaptive cognitive training program for early learners. The original Thinking Time (launched December 2013 with 4 mini-games) was succeeded by Kiko's Thinking Time (launched January 2015 with 10 games, expanded to 25 games by June 2017). The program is sold in two versions: a consumer app (free with $7.99/month or $49.99/year premium upgrade) and a school/district license ($2,000 per school per year). Kiko's Thinking Time targets executive function, reasoning, and spatial skills through adaptive mini-games and includes progress reporting tools for parents and educators.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Kiko's Thinking Time: Neuroscience-based adaptive training program for early learners aged 3-7 that targets executive function, reasoning, and spatial skills for school success.

Products and services

• Kiko's Thinking Time Neuroscience-based adaptive cognitive training program for early learners aged 3-7 that targets executive functions (working memory, inhibition, focus, cognitive flexibility), reasoning, and spatial skills through 25 mini-games. Delivered as a cross-platform app (iOS, Android, desktop browsers) with a voice-guided interface requiring no reading, an in-app progress dashboard for parents, and a web-based reporting portal. Sold to parents via a freemium consumer subscription and to schools and districts via an annual site license distributed through direct sales and a Scientific Learning Corp channel partnership.

Quantifiable outcome

• Pre-K students gain 4.3 months in reasoning skills after approximately 60 minutes of Kiko's Thinking Time use over two weeks
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, important and foundational.

• Reflection SciencescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 November 2017Partnership between Kiko Labs and Reflection Sciences pairs digital tools to measure and improve school readiness. Reflection Sciences provides the Minnesota Executive Function Scale (MEFS), the first nationally normed objective measure of EF for preschool children, while Kiko's Thinking Time provides training tools. The partnership enables schools to practice EF using games and measure gains using MEFS.
• WestEdimportantImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 30 May 2016WestEd, a leading not-for-profit educational research agency, conducted a study to determine the feasibility of using Kiko's Thinking Time in classrooms. The study examined promise of the app to improve students' cognitive skills in reasoning, working with 36 students from low-income communities.
• Scientific Learning CorpcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 13 October 2015Scientific Learning Corp partnered with Kiko Labs to help Pre-K students increase school readiness. Schools and districts can purchase Kiko's Thinking Time through this partnership, which complements Scientific Learning's Fast ForWord program for K-12 students. The partnership targets memory, attention, and cognitive skills development for early learners, particularly those in low-income communities.
• co.lab (Zynga.org and NewSchools Venture Fund)foundationalOthers · 4 March 2014Kiko Labs joined the second cohort of co.lab, the edtech accelerator created by Zynga.org and NewSchools Venture Fund. The four-month program provided mentorship, workspace at Zynga headquarters, and connections to investors and educators. This was a foundational partnership that helped establish Kiko Labs in the edtech space.
• Harvard University (Neuroscientists)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 January 2013Kiko Labs collaborated with neuroscientists from Harvard University (including Dr. Jenny Thomson from Harvard Graduate School of Education and Dr. Silvia Bunge's research team) to design Kiko's Thinking Time from evidence-based techniques proven in scientific studies to improve cognitive functions.
• UC Berkeley (Neuroscientists)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 January 2013Kiko Labs collaborated with neuroscientists from UC Berkeley (including Professor Silvia Bunge's team) to develop game-based cognitive training exercises based on neuropsychological research showing promise in improving executive function skills.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Lumos Labs (Lumosity): Lumosity is the largest consumer cognitive training app, with adaptive memory, attention, and flexibility exercises—a comparable adaptive training methodology and consumer subscription model, but aimed at a broader, mostly adult audience.
• Posit Science (BrainHQ): Posit Science offers BrainHQ, an evidence-based cognitive training platform with exercises for memory, attention, and brain speed. It is more adult-focused but is a direct cognitive training peer with similar neuroscience grounding and an expanding K–12 footprint.
• Cogmed (Pearson): Cogmed is a working memory training program (now owned by Pearson) targeting children and adults with attention/EF challenges. It overlaps directly with Kiko on working memory and EF training and is sold through similar clinical and school channels.
• Scientific Learning Corp: Scientific Learning's Fast ForWord is a neuroscience-based reading and cognitive training product sold to K–12 schools—the same customer segment, same category (cognitive training), and the same channel through which Kiko is distributed. It is also a direct channel partner, making it simultaneously peer and distribution route.
• C8 Sciences (ACTIVATE): ACTIVATE by C8 Sciences is a neuroscience-based executive function and physical fitness program for elementary school students, sold to schools and districts—an almost identical buyer, science foundation, and product category to Kiko's Thinking Time.

Broad incumbents

• LeapFrog Academy: LeapFrog is a longstanding incumbent in educational games and devices for early learners (pre-K through early elementary). It serves a comparable consumer and school audience with a broader product portfolio that is less neuroscience-validated than Kiko's.
• Age of Learning (ABCmouse): ABCmouse is a large, established early-learning curriculum platform for ages 2–8, sold to both parents and schools. It overlaps with Kiko on the same early-learner age band and school/consumer channel, but is a broad academic content suite rather than a focused EF training product.

Emerging players

• Osmo: Osmo blends physical and digital play for early learners (ages 3–10) with adaptive educational games in literacy, math, and creativity—an overlapping target age group and consumer/school distribution, though a different (tangible + digital) modality.
• Reflection Sciences: Reflection Sciences provides the MEFS, the first nationally normed executive function assessment for preschoolers, and is a formal Kiko partner. It is a strategic complement (assess vs. train) rather than a direct competitor, but serves the same school buyers for the same EF use case.

Regional players

• Brain Balance Achievement Centers: Brain Balance is a U.S. center-based program that targets executive function, sensory processing, and academic skills in children—a comparable EF-focused intervention for the same pediatric audience, but delivered in physical centers rather than as a digital product.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/kiko_labs
• Facebookfacebook.com/kikolabs
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kiko-labs

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors3 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 Kiko Labs