ubbu - code literacy
ubbu is a Portuguese EdTech company operating a game-based, block-coding platform that teaches children aged 6-12 programming, computational thinking, and UN Sustainable Development Goals through 100+ hours of curriculum, serving families, primary schools, and international publisher partners across Europe, Brazil, and Africa.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersLisbon, Portugal
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What ubbu - code literacy does
ubbu - code literacy (also operating as 'ubbu - Code to Create') is a Portuguese EdTech company founded in 2017 that delivers a game-based coding education platform for children aged 6-12, available in English, Portuguese (PT/BR), and Spanish. The core product is a block-based visual programming environment organized around 100+ hours of curriculum split into 30 classes across 3 levels and 90+ lessons, with themed characters tied to STEAM topics and a virtual 'ubbu World' geography named after computing pioneers. All lessons integrate the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals, positioning the platform around mindful citizenship alongside computational thinking, problem solving, and project creation. The supplementary 'ubbox' tool lets students build and share their own coded games, and the platform also exposes a coding glossary, classroom printables, unplugged activities, and an educator blog (Academia ubbu).
The business runs on a freemium-to-subscription family model (Free, Essential at $10/child/month, Advanced at $14/child/month, with a 20% discount on annual billing) and a separate school licensing tier with teacher dashboards, class management, and parent email integration. Go-to-market is product-led and community-led: a self-serve web experience (play.ubbu.io), teacher outreach, seasonal campaigns, and channel distribution via education publishers including Marshall Cavendish Education, Macmillan Education, and Optimus Educación. Operations are based in Lisbon with an operational base in Aveiro and a partnership with the University of Aveiro; the platform reports more than 90 million activities played to date and carries endorsements including the Financial Times 'Europe's 100 Digital Champions' and the All Digital School Editors' Pick.
Monetization is supplemented by a branded merchandise storefront, and expansion is supported by EU, Portuguese governmental, and impact funding (Portugal 2020, Lisboa 2020, Portugal Inovação Social, FCT, Casa do Impacto - Santa Casa, Maze). The company is privately held and founder-led (co-founder & CEO Joao M.; Director of Operations João Barata), with a small in-house team spanning tech, operations, illustration, product/design, pedagogical content, game programming, and sales. No institutional venture capital or external majority investor is disclosed.
ubbu - code literacy firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- ubbu - code literacy
- Legal name
- ubbu
- Website
- https://ubbu.io
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- ubbu is a Portuguese EdTech company operating a game-based, block-coding platform that teaches children aged 6-12 programming, computational thinking, and UN Sustainable Development Goals through 100+ hours of curriculum, serving families, primary schools, and international publisher partners across Europe, Brazil, and Africa.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
ubbu - code literacy industry classification
Industry- Product category
- K-12 Coding Education Platform
- NAICS
- Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (61171), Educational Services (611)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Game Development (Unity, Unreal, 2D/3D) (EDAMACAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Virtual Homeschool Programs & Online Curriculum Schools (EDAJADAJ), Open Courseware & Course Modules (OCW) (EDAGAJAB)
Keywords
Where ubbu - code literacy is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Lisbon
- HQ country
- Portugal
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
ubbu - code literacy business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Family Subscriptions: Monthly and annual subscription plans for families, with tiered pricing offering free, essential ($10/month), and advanced ($14/month) options. Annual billing provides 20% discount.
- School Licenses: Dedicated school pricing with separate plans for educational institutions, including teacher dashboard, class management, and progress tracking features.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free tier with limited access for trial |
| Subscription | Monthly | Core subscription with full lesson library |
| Subscription | Monthly | Full access with complete challenge library |
| Subscription | Monthly | School licensing with teacher tools |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
ubbu - code literacy product offering
Product offeringCore offering
ubbu is a game-based coding education platform that teaches computer science and programming to children aged 6-12 through block-based visual programming, interactive lessons, and project creation tools. The platform delivers 100+ hours of curriculum content across 30 classes and 3 levels, aligned with the K-12 Framework and UN Sustainable Development Goals, and is offered through separate subscription plans for families and schools.
Product overview
ubbu is a single unified educational platform offering game-based coding education for children aged 6-12. The core offering consists of the ubbu learning platform (featuring 100+ hours of lessons across the curriculum), the ubbox project creation tool for coding games, and the ubbu World virtual environment. Supporting resources include My Code Glossary (coding terminology reference), ubbu Academy (blog with teaching resources), and Classroom Printables (decorative and activity materials). The platform is available in multiple languages (English, Portuguese, Spanish) and serves both families and schools with tiered pricing.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- ubbu Platform Core game-based coding education platform offering 90+ interactive lessons, coding challenges, and project creation tools for children aged 6-12, aligned with K-12 Framework and UN Sustainable Development Goals. Available via freemium and subscription tiers for families and schools.
- ubbox Project creation tool that allows students to code their own games and interactive projects using block-based programming, and share them with friends and family worldwide.
- ubbu World Virtual narrative world with themed geographic regions named after computing pioneers (Ada City, Turing Fields, Hopper City, Boole Islands, Kwari Desert, Berner Tundra), serving as the setting for learning adventures with STEAM-themed characters.
- ubbu Curriculum Structured 100+ hour curriculum split into 30 classes across 3 levels (Ages 6-7, 7-8, 8-10, 10-12), covering computational thinking, STEAM topics, and UN Sustainable Development Goals content.
- My Code Glossary
Quantifiable outcome
- Up to 6x improvement in school performance reported
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use ubbu - code literacy
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
ubbu - code literacy technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
AI capability2 records
Feature6 records
ubbu - code literacy partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Universidade de AveirocoreUniversity partnership for research and development in educational technology. Ubbu used in Tech-Labs activities for 1st cycle students.
- University of RoehamptoncoreAcademic partner providing pedagogical research support and validation for the ubbu curriculum.
- Global Equality CollectiveminorPartnership focused on promoting equality and inclusion in technology education.
- Marshall Cavendish EducationcoreEducation publisher distributing ubbu platform through their education channels, particularly in South Africa.
- Macmillan EducationcoreGlobal education publisher partnership for distribution in South African markets.
- Optimus EducacióncoreSpanish education partner distributing ubbu Academy platform in Spain.
- Mink AdvisorsminorAfrican market development partner helping expand ubbu reach in Africa.
- Portugal Incode 2030coreNational digital skills initiative supporting coding literacy development in Portugal.
- Direção Geral da Educação (DGE)corePortuguese Ministry of Education general directorate providing official support and recognition for ubbu in schools.
- ANPRI (Associação Nacional de Professores de Informática)minorNational association of computer teachers in Portugal, promoting ubbu among informatics teachers.
- CiclopesminorSocial impact partner for Christmas campaigns - ubbu donates €0.50 per project created to support youth cycling education.
- Hour of CodeminorPartnership with Hour of Code global initiative for coding education promotion.
- Code for AllminorGlobal network supporting ubbu's mission to promote coding literacy.
- Aulas AmigasminorSpanish educational initiative partner.
- CifikuminorEducational partner in Spanish markets.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
ubbu - code literacy competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Scratch: MIT's free block-based coding platform for kids, the dominant reference point for any K-12 visual programming product. Directly comparable on age range, block-based paradigm and project-sharing model.
- Tynker: VC-backed subscription coding platform for ages 5-18 with both family and school licenses. Closest commercial analogue to ubbu's dual B2C/B2B go-to-market and age-adapted curriculum structure.
- Code.org: Nonprofit behind the Hour of Code and a free K-12 computer science curriculum used in millions of classrooms worldwide. Sets the global free baseline against which ubbu's paid school offering must differentiate.
- CodeCombat: Game-based coding platform for students and schools using a real text-language progression (Python, JavaScript, C++). Directly comparable on the gamified learning premise and school-license business model.
- Kodable: K-5 game-based coding curriculum with both family and school editions. Comparable on age targeting (K-5 vs ubbu's 6-12), progression structure, and dual consumer/educator channel.
- CodeMonkey: Game-based coding education platform for ages 8-16 with school and home subscriptions. Overlaps with ubbu on the gamified coding school-license model and age range.
- Lightbot: Puzzle-based programming game for kids that introduces sequencing, procedures and loops. Comparable as a younger-learner entry point to computational thinking and often used alongside platforms like ubbu in school pilots.
- ScratchJr: Free block-based coding app for ages 5-7 from Tufts and MIT, focused on the youngest segment of ubbu's age range. Direct competitor for ubbu's 6-7 tier and another free alternative constraining paid conversion.
- Bitsbox: Subscription coding platform delivering monthly app-coding projects for kids with a school-distribution model. Comparable on the recurring monthly content drops and parent/school dual channel.
Broad incumbents
- Google CS First: Free Google-hosted computer science curriculum for K-8 classrooms with teacher kits. Overlaps with ubbu's school channel and raises the bar for free, well-resourced alternatives in the institutional segment.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
ubbu - code literacy social profiles
Digital presenceubbu - code literacy financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
ubbu - code literacy leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
ubbu - code literacy funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
ubbu - code literacy M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about ubbu - code literacy
What does ubbu - code literacy do?
ubbu is a game-based coding education platform that teaches computer science and programming to children aged 6-12 through block-based visual programming, interactive lessons, and project creation tools. The platform delivers 100+ hours of curriculum content across 30 classes and 3 levels, aligned with the K-12 Framework and UN Sustainable Development Goals, and is offered through separate subscription plans for families and schools.
Is ubbu - code literacy a public or private company?
ubbu - code literacy is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was ubbu - code literacy founded?
ubbu - code literacy was founded in 2017. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is ubbu - code literacy based?
ubbu - code literacy is headquartered in Lisbon, Portugal, in the Europe region.
How does ubbu - code literacy make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Family Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are school Licenses.
Who are ubbu - code literacy's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Scratch, Tynker, Code.org, CodeCombat, Kodable, CodeMonkey, Lightbot, ScratchJr and Bitsbox. Google CS First is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does ubbu - code literacy have an API?
No public API is recorded for ubbu - code literacy.
What industry is ubbu - code literacy in?
ubbu - code literacy's product category is K-12 Coding Education Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAMACAE, Game Development (Unity, Unreal, 2D/3D), with a secondary code of EDAJADAJ, Virtual Homeschool Programs & Online Curriculum Schools. Its NAICS code is 611710 and its SIC code is 8200.