Modular Robotics

What Modular Robotics does

Modular Robotics is a Boulder, Colorado-based educational robotics company founded in 2008 as a Carnegie Mellon University spin-off by Eric Schweikardt and Mark D. Gross. The company designs and manufactures modular magnetic robot blocks branded as Cubelets, a system of 17 unique 2-inch cubes organized into SENSE (inputs), THINK (logic/processing), and ACT (output) categories that snap together magnetically and communicate via an embedded data network, allowing behavior to emerge from physical construction without initial coding. The portfolio was expanded in 2019 through the acquisition of Dexter Industries, which added GoPiGo (Raspberry Pi robot), GiggleBot (micro:bit robot), and BrickPi (LEGO Mindstorms connectivity) product lines.

The company generates revenue primarily through hardware sales of Cubelets kits (Discovery Set, Curiosity Set, Boundless Builder) and accessories (Hat Series launched 2024-2026), supplemented by tiered Lesson Plan Bundles ($199-$640 by grade band), Activity Cards ($25), and paid Professional Development workshops. Distribution combines direct e-commerce on modrobotics.com and gopigo.io, Amazon marketplaces, 30+ US educational distributors (Follett, School Specialty, Nasco, STEMfinity, Ward's Science), and international partners across 10+ countries. The primary customer segment is K-12 education (PreK through Grade 12), with secondary segments in home/consumer, museums/camps/libraries (including MoMA Store and TIFF digiPlaySpace), and makerspaces.

Modular Robotics is a small (11-50 employees), privately-held, remote-first company that has shipped over one million Cubelets as of November 2019. Funding has totaled approximately $11.75M across NSF SBIR grants (2010-2014) and a $3M Series A led by Foundry Group in July 2012. The company has accumulated multiple industry awards (Learning Magazine Teachers' Choice 2020, Parents' Choice 2019, Common Sense Education Top Pick 2019) and operates without any disclosed AI/ML capabilities or platform dependencies, relying instead on tactile hardware design and standards-aligned curriculum content as its primary differentiators.

Name

Modular Robotics

Legal name

Modular Robotics Incorporated

Website

https://modrobotics.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Modular Robotics (Boulder, CO) designs and manufactures Cubelets magnetic robot blocks and complementary educational robotics (GoPiGo, GiggleBot, BrickPi) that teach computational thinking to K-12 students, educators, museums, and home users through tactile, screen-free construction.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Robotics

NAICS

Doll, Toy, and Game Manufacturing (339930), Other Schools and Instruction (6116), All Other Schools and Instruction (61169)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Robotics Learning Platforms (EDAFANAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Robotics After-School & Enrichment Clubs (EDAMADAA), LEGO / Block-Based Robotics Programs (EDAMADAD), Robotics Kits, Parts & Lab Equipment Providers (Education-Focused) (EDAMADAN), AI & Machine Learning for Robotics Programs (EDAMADAK), Educational & Hobby Robotics Kits (Consumer) (CRACARAG)

Keywords

• Educational robotics
• Modular robot kits
• STEM learning tools
• Computational thinking
• Classroom robotics

Headquarters

HQ city

Boulder

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Hardware Sales - Robot Blocks and Kits: Sale of Cubelets robot blocks individually and in pre-configured educational/home packs. Products include Discovery Set, Curiosity Set, Boundless Builder, and Educator Packs at various price points.
2. Professional Development Services: Paid training workshops for educators including Cubelets 101, Train-the-trainer, Introducing lesson plans, and Coaching sessions. Customized for grade level, school, or district initiatives.
3. Educational Resources and Lesson Plans: Sale of Lesson Plan Bundles organized by grade level (PreK-K, Grades 1-3, 4-6, 7-12) priced from $199-$640, and Activity Cards at $25.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Modular Robotics designs, manufactures, and sells modular educational robotics products anchored by Cubelets — 17 unique magnetic 2-inch robot blocks in SENSE, THINK, and ACT categories that snap together to form functional robots without coding. The portfolio also includes the Hat Series add-on modules, the GoPiGo Raspberry Pi robot, GiggleBot micro:bit robot, and BrickPi for LEGO Mindstorms, along with companion software (Cubelets Console, Blockly) and standards-aligned educator lesson plans and professional development workshops.

Product overview

Modular Robotics is a Boulder, Colorado-based company founded in 2008 as a spin-off from Carnegie Mellon University. The company produces a portfolio of educational robotics products anchored by Cubelets robot blocks — a system of 17 magnetic 2-inch cubes (SENSE, THINK, and ACT categories) that snap together to form functional robots, teaching computational thinking and systems design. The portfolio includes the Hat Series clip-on accessories (Brightness Hat, Mood Ring, Distance Hat) that extend existing Cubelets. Beyond Cubelets, the company manufactures GoPiGo (Raspberry Pi robot), GiggleBot (micro:bit robot), and BrickPi (LEGO Mindstorms enhancement) — brands acquired and expanded following the 2019 acquisition of Dexter Industries. Software offerings include Cubelets Console, Cubelets Blockly, and companion apps for programming, data logging, and remote control. The company also offers extensive educator resources including grade-banded Lesson Plan Bundles, Activity Cards, Professional Development workshops, free Camp Curriculum, and Grab Bag interdisciplinary lesson plans. The company is remote-first, AI-forward, and primarily serves education markets (PreK through Grade 12) as well as home and museum learners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Cubelets: Modular robot blocks designed to teach computational thinking, systems thinking, and STEM skills to learners of all ages
• GoPiGo
• GiggleBot
• BrickPi

Products and services

• Cubelets Robot Blocks Modular magnetic robot blocks that snap together to form robots without coding; 17 unique block types across SENSE (light, distance, temperature inputs), THINK (logic and processing), and ACT (motion, sound, light outputs) categories; used by educators and parents to teach computational thinking, engineering, and systems design.
• Hat Series (Brightness Hat, Mood Ring, Distance Hat) Clip-on accessory modules that add a single sense or output capability to any existing Cubelet — Brightness Hat (photoreceptor, $19), Mood Ring (multicolor LED ring, $24), Distance Hat (infrared 10–80 cm distance sensor).
• GoPiGo Raspberry Pi Robot A Raspberry Pi-powered robot for advanced computer science education, leveraging the Raspberry Pi computing platform to connect coding to real-world problem-solving.
• GiggleBot micro:bit Robot A programmable robot built on the BBC micro:bit platform designed as an accessible way for kids and parents to build and code a robot together.
• BrickPi for LEGO Mindstorms A hardware add-on that enhances LEGO Mindstorms NXT and EV3 sensors and motors, enabling connectivity with web services, networking multiple robots, and remote operation via Wi-Fi.
• Cubelets Console Desktop application for Cubelets enabling block-based programming, text-based C coding, data logging to visualize and save block values, and robot configuration and monitoring.
• Bluetooth Cubelet A Bluetooth-enabled Cubelet that enables wireless control, remote control, and reprogramming of Cubelets robots via computers and mobile devices.
• Cubelets Discovery Set Entry-level curated Cubelets set for home or classroom use, designed for first-time builders and ages 4+.
• Cubelets Curiosity Set Mid-tier curated Cubelets set offering expanded robot-building possibilities for deeper exploration.
• Boundless Builder Pack Comprehensive Cubelets set offering the most extensive robot-building options for advanced exploration.
• Cubelets Activity Cards A set of 21 challenge cards on durable cardstock for independent robot exploration; each card has a challenge on one side and hints on the other, rated by difficulty. Priced at $25.
• Cubelets Lesson Plan Bundles Pre-assembled curriculum bundles for educators by grade band — PreK-K ($199), Grades 1-3, Grades 4-6, Grades 7-12, and Full PreK-12 Bundle ($640) — containing standards-aligned lesson plans.
• Cubelets Professional Development Customized paid educator training workshops including Cubelets 101, Train-the-Trainer, Introducing Lesson Plans, and Coaching sessions; available in-person or via webinar for up to 50 educators per session.
• Brick Adapters A 4-pack of adapters that enable Cubelets to connect with standard building bricks, integrating Cubelets with other construction systems. Priced at $18.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100% student engagement reported in Pinellas School District, FL
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Dexter IndustriescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Acquired Dexter Industries in 2019, another educational robotics company. This added GoPiGo and BrickPi Raspberry Pi robots to the product portfolio.
• Carnegie Mellon UniversitycoreTechnology or IntegrationLicensed technology from Carnegie Mellon University where founder Eric Schweikardt designed Cubelets while completing his PhD. The company is a spin-off from Carnegie Mellon.
• Bridges CanadaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeveloped the Debug'd Cubelets Curriculum in partnership with Bridges Canada for inclusive and self-contained classrooms.
• WozEdminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCubelets and GoPiGo are featured in the WozEd Robotics Pathway. WozEd is funded by the founder of Apple and offers over $20M in grants for schools seeking STEAM opportunities.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Ozobot: Ozobot makes small programmable robots (Evo and Bit) for K-12 STEM classrooms, competing with Cubelets on early-years robotics adoption and standards-aligned lesson plans.
• Wonder Workshop: Wonder Workshop sells Dash, Dot, and Cue robots for elementary STEM and computer science education, sharing the K-12 screen-free-to-coding progression and standards-aligned curriculum positioning.
• Makeblock: Makeblock produces mBot, Codey Rocky, and STEAM educational robotics kits for global K-12 markets, directly competing with Modular Robotics on modular construction and coding curriculum.
• VEX Robotics: VEX Robotics provides modular construction-based robotics platforms for K-12 education and competitive robotics teams, with a similar standards-aligned curriculum and educator-channel approach as Cubelets.
• Sphero: Sphero makes programmable educational robots (including the former littleBits acquisition) for K-12 STEM classrooms and competes with Modular Robotics on coding curriculum and educator adoption.
• LEGO Education: LEGO Education sells block-based robotics kits (SPIKE, WeDo, Mindstorms successor) for K-12 STEM classrooms and is the dominant incumbent in educational construction robotics that Modular Robotics competes with most directly.
• BirdBrain Technologies (Hummingbird Robotics): BirdBrain Technologies offers Hummingbird Robotics Kits and Finch robots for K-12 STEM, with a similar construction-based, multi-block educational robotics approach and an educator-curriculum focus.

Broad incumbents

• Arduino Education: Arduino Education provides microcontroller-based STEAM kits for secondary and higher education, overlapping with Modular Robotics' older student programming offerings in the broader STEM education ecosystem.
• Raspberry Pi Foundation: Raspberry Pi Foundation drives computer science education globally and is the underlying platform for Modular Robotics' GoPiGo line, positioning it as both a partner and broad incumbent in K-12 computing education.

Emerging players

• Kickstarter / Crowd-funded STEM Toy Brands (e.g., littleBits legacy, Circuit Cube): Modular Robotics itself launched the MOSS system on Kickstarter in 2013 and operates alongside other crowd-funded STEM/robotics kit brands entering K-12 and consumer channels.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/modrobotics
• YouTubeyoutube.com/modrobotics
• Facebookfacebook.com/modrobotics
• Instagraminstagram.com/modrobotics
• Pinterestpinterest.com/modrobotics
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/modular-robotics

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds7 records

Investors4 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Modular Robotics