PhET

STEM Education Softwarephet.colorado.edu

PhET is a University of Colorado Boulder non-profit that provides 150+ free, HTML5-based interactive science and math simulations in 90+ languages, serving K-12 and higher-education students and educators globally with supplementary paid PhET Studio and PhET-iO commercial licensing.

Company typePrivate
Founded2002
HeadquartersBoulder, United States
Headcount51–100
GTM typeB2C
OfferingSoftware

What PhET does

PhET Interactive Simulations is a non-profit educational research project housed at the University of Colorado Boulder, founded in 2002 by Carl Wieman under the original name Physics Education Technology. It provides 150+ free, HTML5-based interactive simulations covering physics, chemistry, biology, earth science, and mathematics, accessible via the phet.colorado.edu website and native iOS and Android applications, with no login required for student use and translations available in 90+ languages. The platform serves a primary K-12 student and educator segment, with secondary reach into higher education, education researchers, and commercial EdTech platforms that embed simulations into paid products. The project operates with 51-100 employees, is funded primarily by grants from the Moore Foundation, National Science Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, Yidan Prize, and Mastercard Foundation, and is structured as a university research initiative rather than a venture-backed company.

PhET firmographics

Firmographics

Name: PhET
Legal name: PhET Interactive Simulations, University of Colorado Boulder
Website: https://phet.colorado.edu
Company type: Private
Founded year: 2002
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 51–100 employees
Short description: PhET is a University of Colorado Boulder non-profit that provides 150+ free, HTML5-based interactive science and math simulations in 90+ languages, serving K-12 and higher-education students and educators globally with supplementary paid PhET Studio and PhET-iO commercial licensing.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

PhET industry classification

Industry

Product category: STEM Education Software
NAICS: Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology) (541715)
SIC: Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
akta.pro primary industry: Digital Labs, Simulations & Virtual Practicals (Non-XR) (EDAFACAF)
akta.pro secondary industries: Virtual Labs, Remote Labs & Hands-On Practice Tools (EDAFABAH), Simulation & Scenario-Based Learning Authoring (EDAFAHAD), Open Interactive Learning Objects & Simulations (EDAGAJAE)

Keywords

Interactive science simulations
STEM education tools
Physics simulations
Mathematics simulations
Educational technology

Where PhET is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: Boulder
HQ country: United States
HQ region: North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

PhET business model

Business model

GTM type: B2C
Offering type: Software
Cost components: Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

Grant Funding: Primary funding from foundations (Moore Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, Mastercard Foundation) and government sources (National Science Foundation) that support the development and maintenance of free educational simulations.
Commercial Licensing: Revenue generated from licensing PhET simulations for commercial use. Organizations embedding PhET in commercial products, monetized platforms, or paid educational resources require a commercial license.
PhET Premium for Classroom Use: Paid licensing for PhET Studio premium features including advanced preset management, license administration, and enhanced support services for educational institutions.

Pricing tiers

Model	Billing	Price
Freemium	Others	Free Educational Use - No license required for non-commercial educational purposes including K-12, higher education, public and private schools
Freemium	Others	PhET Studio Free Trial - Access to premium teacher features
Subscription	Annual	PhET Premium for Classroom Use - Paid license for advanced features
One time/ perpetual license	Multi-year contract	Commercial License - Required for commercial use

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

PhET product offering

Product offering

Core offering

PhET provides free, interactive, research-based science and mathematics simulations covering physics, chemistry, biology, earth science, and math. Simulations are accessible via the web, iOS, and Android apps, with commercial embedding supported through PhET-iO and teacher customization offered via PhET Studio. The core offering is freely available for non-commercial educational use, with paid licensing required for commercial embedding and premium classroom features.

Product overview

PhET Interactive Simulations is a single unified product—free online science and mathematics simulations—offered by the University of Colorado Boulder. The portfolio includes the core openly-licensed HTML5/legacy simulations, PhET Studio (a classroom customization add-on available via free trial or paid license), PhET-iO (interoperable simulations for third-party platforms and research, requiring commercial licensing), and mobile apps for iOS/Android/Chromebook. SceneryStack OSE is an open-source initiative related to the simulation graphics engine.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

PhET Studio: A platform for teachers to create, share, and manage customizable simulation presets for classroom use, with both free and premium (PhET Premium for Classroom Use) options.
PhET-iO

Products and services

PhET Interactive Simulations Free, online interactive simulations covering physics, chemistry, biology, earth science, and mathematics, accessible via web in HTML5 and legacy formats, with no login required for student use. Available for free for non-commercial educational purposes.
PhET Studio

Companies that use PhET

Customer profile

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

PhET technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API: No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature3 records

PhET partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

PhET competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Direct peers

Praxilabs: Praxilabs delivers 3D virtual science labs and simulations for schools and universities, overlapping with PhET in chemistry, biology, and physics simulations with a more paid/SaaS-oriented commercial model.
Beyond Labz: Beyond Labz provides virtual science labs for chemistry, biology, and physics aimed at high schools and colleges, competing with PhET in the simulation-based lab replacement category.
Labster: Labster provides immersive virtual science labs for higher education and K-12, directly competing with PhET in the digital/virtual lab category across biology, chemistry, and physics, with a more commercial VR-oriented model.
ExploreLearning (Gizmos): ExploreLearning's Gizmos offers interactive math and science simulations for K-12 classrooms with teacher lesson materials, directly comparable to PhET's simulation library and classroom-use positioning.

Emerging players

OpenStax (Rice University): OpenStax is a Rice University-based open educational resource initiative publishing free textbooks; it shares PhET's university-backed, free-access OER model and overlapping higher-ed and K-12 audience.
Smart Sparrow: Smart Sparrow offers adaptive interactive learning and authoring tools for educators, overlapping with PhET Studio's customizable-simulation/preset model for STEM instruction.
JoVE (Journal of Visualized Experiments): JoVE produces peer-reviewed scientific video experiments used in higher-ed teaching and research labs, addressing the same "lab experience without physical equipment" need as PhET but through video rather than interactive simulation.

Others

Kahoot!: Kahoot! is a broader gamified learning and assessment platform used by teachers and schools; adjacent ecosystem participant that competes for engagement minutes in K-12 classrooms where PhET simulations are deployed.

Broad incumbents

Khan Academy: Khan Academy offers free K-12 STEM instruction including practice exercises and videos; a broad free EdTech incumbent with overlapping K-12 audience and complementary (not directly substitutable) interactive learning content.
BrainPOP: BrainPOP delivers broad K-6 STEM and other subjects via animated content and quizzes; while not a direct lab competitor, it competes for the same teacher budget and instructional minute as PhET simulations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

PhET financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

PhET leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

PhET funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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

PhET M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about PhET

What does PhET do?

Is PhET a public or private company?

PhET is a private company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.

When was PhET founded?

PhET was founded in 2002. It employs 51 to 100 people.

Where is PhET based?

PhET is headquartered in Boulder, United States, in the North America region.

How does PhET make money?

Three revenue lines are on record. Grant Funding is the primary driver. The others are commercial Licensing and phET Premium for Classroom Use.

Who are PhET's main competitors?

Direct peers on record are Praxilabs, Beyond Labz, Labster and ExploreLearning (Gizmos). Emerging players are OpenStax (Rice University), Smart Sparrow and JoVE (Journal of Visualized Experiments). Kahoot! is listed as an others. Broad incumbents are Khan Academy and BrainPOP.

Does PhET have an API?

No public API is recorded for PhET.

What industry is PhET in?

PhET's product category is STEM Education Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAFACAF, Digital Labs, Simulations & Virtual Practicals (Non-XR), with a secondary code of EDAFABAH, Virtual Labs, Remote Labs & Hands-On Practice Tools. Its NAICS code is 541715 and its SIC code is 7372.