STEMEd

What STEMEd does

STEMEd, LLC is a privately held STEM education company, incorporated in Nevada and headquartered in Las Vegas with a satellite office in Irvine, California. The company operates a platform-plus-modules architecture centered on the STEMSat Project, which teaches K-12 and college/university students to design, build, test, and launch small satellites based on the CubeSat Standard. The core curriculum comprises a three-tier tutorial system (K-5, 6-8, 9-12) plus a higher-education variant, a Teacher's Manual, a Student's Workbook, and print and video tutorials covering Physics of Satellites and Orbits and full satellite Design, Build, Test and Launch workflows including Concept-of-Operations training. The curriculum is delivered through periodic teacher workshops conducted two to three times per year, both in-person and online, and reinforced via an annual Student and Teacher Technical Conference.

The underlying technology stack includes a Satellite Control Room software system that enables students to issue script-based programming instructions to command orbiting STEMSats — changing satellite attitude, capturing photographs and video snippets in visible and near-infrared spectrum, and downloading imagery to a school's on-premise control room. Supplementary products include the STEMHunt in-space laser-tag game software, the STEMSat Olympics competition, a space advertising offering in which sponsors commission custom STEMSats carrying deployable company logos in low-earth-orbit, and a payload service for DNA samples and cremated remains prior to launch. STEMSats are described as carrying imaging cameras (visible and near-infrared) with planned future instrumentation for space weather studies.

STEMEd's revenue model is a hybrid of subscription-style satellite access (STEMSat data services to participating institutions), professional services revenue from curriculum delivery, teacher workshops, and conference proceedings, hardware-related revenue from sponsored/custom STEMSats for space advertising, and transaction fees for the DNA/cremated-remains launch service. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and appears quote-based for educational institutions and corporate sponsors. The go-to-market motion is community-led and direct-to-institution: teacher workshops drive curriculum adoption, while the annual conference serves as both a research showcase and demand-generation event. The company has been awarded a Phase 1 Seed Fund Grant from the National Science Foundation and operates with a team of 1-10 people.

Name

STEMEd

Legal name

STEMEd, LLC

Website

https://stemedllc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

STEMEd, LLC is a private STEM education company that teaches K-12 and college students to design, build, launch, and command CubeSat-standard small satellites through a tiered curriculum, teacher workshops, and direct access to its orbiting STEMSats and Satellite Control Room software.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

STEM Education Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Manufacturing (336414)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Guided Missiles & Space Vehicles & Parts (3760)

akta.pro primary industry

Space & Astronomy Programs (EDAMABAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Hands-on Science Exploration & Experiments (Lab Kits, Science Clubs) (EDAMABAA), Math & STEM Learning Technology (incl. Coding/Robotics Platforms) (EDAJAMAG), STEM & Maker Education (Makerspaces, Coding Clubs, Robotics) (EDAAAFAL)

Keywords

• STEM education
• CubeSat curriculum
• Satellite education programs
• K-12 STEM learning
• Space education services

Headquarters

HQ city

Irvine

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. STEMSat Satellite Access and Data Services: Student participants are given access to data downloaded from STEMEd's orbiting STEMSats equipped with imaging cameras (visible and near infrared) and science instrumentation for space weather studies.
2. Educational Curriculum and Materials: Provides Teacher's Manual, Student's Workbook-Exercises, and print and video tutorials to participating educational institutions as part of the STEMSat Project program.
3. Teacher Workshops: Two to three times per year, Teacher's Workshops are conducted via in-person or online delivery.
4. Annual Conference Proceedings: Student and Teacher Technical Conference where papers are published in STEMEd, LLC STEM Conference Proceedings.
5. Space Advertising: Companies can sponsor Teachers' Workshops, Technical Conference, and/or STEMSat Olympic Games. STEMEd builds custom STEMSats for sponsoring companies that can deploy large company logos in orbit.
6. DNA and Cremated Remains Launch Services: Space available inside STEMSats prior to launch for DNA and/or cremated remains to be launched into low-earth-orbit.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

STEMEd delivers the STEMSat Project, an educational program that teaches students to design, build, test, and launch CubeSat-standard small satellites for low-earth-orbit flight. The company provides participating schools and universities with a three-tier Tutorial system (K-5, 6-8, 9-12 plus college/university versions), Teacher's Manuals, Student's Workbooks-Exercises, and access to orbiting STEMSats equipped with imaging cameras. Supporting offerings include script-based Satellite Control Room software for commanding satellites, teacher workshops, an annual student/teacher technical conference, STEMHunt in-space laser-tag game software, STEMSat Olympics competitions, corporate space advertising, and orbital DNA/cremated remains launch services.

Product overview

STEMEd is a STEM education and software company that operates a platform-plus-modules architecture centered on the STEMSat Project. The core offering teaches students to design, build, launch, and command small CubeSat satellites for low-earth-orbit flight. This is augmented by satellite access services for data/image download, script-based command and control capabilities, the STEMHunt space laser tag game software, and the STEMSat Olympics competition. Supporting services include periodic teacher workshops, annual student/teacher technical conferences, space advertising opportunities, and DNA/cremated remains orbital launch services. The company has corporate headquarters in Las Vegas, Nevada and a satellite location in Irvine, California.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• STEMSat: Small satellite design, build, test and launch educational program where students learn to design, build, launch and test small satellites for low-earth-orbit flight.

Products and services

• STEMSat Project
• Access to Orbiting Small Satellites in Low Earth Orbit
• Command and Control of Small Satellites in Low Earth Orbit
• Teacher's Workshops
• Annual Student and Teacher Technical Conference
• STEMHunt: In-Space STEM Laser Tag Game Software Package
• Space Advertising
• DNA and Cremated Remains to Orbit

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• L'Garde, Inc.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Dwight Duston serves on the Board of Directors at L'Garde, Inc., an aerospace company in Tustin, California. L'Garde specializes in inflatable space structures technology and has collaborated on technical reports and publications with STEMEd team members.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• LEGO Education: LEGO Education is the established incumbent in K-12 STEM kits, robotics, and maker education. It competes with STEMEd for district STEM budgets but at much broader scope and scale, without an orbital asset.
• KidZania: KidZania operates hands-on career and STEM-themed educational experiences for children. It overlaps with STEMEd's mission to inspire STEM career interest through experiential learning, though delivered as physical venues rather than orbital assets.
• EnduroSat: EnduroSat provides CubeSat platforms, ground stations, and educational access programs for universities and schools. It overlaps with STEMEd on the satellite technology stack and educational access, though at a more enterprise/university tier.
• Discovery Education: Discovery Education is a large K-12 digital content provider with STEM modules used by U.S. school districts. It represents the broad-incumbent competitor for STEM curriculum dollars and district-level contracts that STEMEd must displace.
• iRobot Education: iRobot Education extends the Roomba/Create robotics platforms into K-12 STEM curricula and competitions. It is a broader incumbent in K-12 STEM/robotics and competes with STEMEd for the same hands-on, engineering-focused curriculum dollars.

Regional players

• Celestron: Celestron is a well-known manufacturer of educational and consumer telescopes and astronomy tools used in school STEM programs. It is comparable as a space-education hardware provider targeting K-12 buyers, though focused on observation rather than orbital satellite design.

Direct peers

• Sphero: Sphero makes programmable educational robots and STEM kits sold to schools and consumers. It competes with STEMEd for STEM enrichment budget at the K-12 level through hands-on, technology-driven learning products.
• Tynker: Tynker is a leading K-12 STEM/coding learning platform sold to schools and districts. Like STEMEd, it provides curriculum, teacher resources, and student-facing software tools for STEM education, targeting the same K-12 buyer.
• Pumpkin Space Systems: Pumpkin supplies CubeSat kits, components, and educational materials used by universities and schools to build small satellites. It addresses the same 'CubeSat-in-the-classroom' niche as STEMEd's STEMSat curriculum.

Emerging players

• Ardusat: Ardusat provides space-themed STEM curriculum and Arduino-based satellite experiment platforms to schools. It overlaps with STEMEd's mission to integrate space data and hands-on science into K-12 classrooms, but with ground-based sensors rather than orbiting satellites.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 STEMEd