Coding Pirates

What Coding Pirates does

Coding Pirates is a Denmark-based non-profit association (forening) founded in 2013 through a pilot project at the IT University of Copenhagen and formally established in February 2014 by Martin Exner and Christian Hjorth Lund. The organization delivers after-school technology education to children and youth aged 7-17 through 58 local associations and 71 departments nationwide, offering weekly club nights covering coding, game development, robotics, maker projects, and AI exploration. A small professional secretariat in Odense (led by Secretary General Louise Overgaard) coordinates operations, while local delivery is carried out by an extensive volunteer network of IT professionals, teachers, and entrepreneurs.

The organization operates a portfolio of programs including the Piratskibet online learning platform with curated, adult-moderated content for children under 13; the Onlineklubben digital club for children aged 7-14 experiencing school absenteeism; the Coding Pirates-skole school partnership program aligned with Denmark's incoming technologiforståelse curriculum; and the Piratpagten (Pirate Pact) franchise model for schools and community organizations. Coding Pirates is also the official operator of FIRST LEGO League in Denmark, Iceland, Faroe Islands, and Greenland, and runs annual events including the Game Jam competition (since 2014) and the Bornhack summer camp.

Revenue is diversified across four streams: family membership fees of approximately 500 DKK per half year and volunteer fees of 75 DKK annually; tiered corporate Matros sponsorship packages (15,000-100,000+ DKK); foundation grants from A.P. Møller Fonden, Trygfonden, VILLUM FONDEN, LEGO Foundation, Novo Nordisk, PA-Foundation, and Industriens Fond; and transactional event fees such as 250 DKK per Game Jam participant. The organization is governed by an 8-member elected main board chaired by Stig Kristensen and has no parent company or equity ownership structure.

Name

Coding Pirates

Legal name

Coding Pirates Denmark

Website

https://codingpirates.dk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Coding Pirates is a Danish non-profit association that delivers after-school coding, robotics, and maker education to children aged 7-17 through 58 local associations and 71 departments, operating the Piratskibet online platform and serving as official FIRST LEGO League operator for Denmark, Iceland, Faroe Islands, and Greenland.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Children's Technology Education

NAICS

Technical and Trade Schools (6115)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Game Development (Unity, Unreal, 2D/3D) (EDAMACAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Coding, Game Design & Computer Science Camps (EDAMALAD), Life Skills & SEL Camps (Confidence, Executive Function, Social Skills) (EDAMALAO)

Keywords

• Children's coding education
• After-school technology clubs
• Youth STEM programs
• Volunteer-led learning
• Creative technology workshops

Headquarters

HQ city

Odense

HQ country

Denmark

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Children's clubs typically cost 500 kr per half year (3.5 months, 2 hours weekly). Volunteer membership is 75 kr annually. Revenue supports local club operations and national activities.
2. Corporate Sponsorships (Matros Packages): Partner companies support the organization through tiered sponsorship packages: Robot-Matros (FIRST LEGO League visibility), Sapphire-Matros (15,000-24,999 kr), Bronze-Matros (15,000-24,999 kr), Silver-Matros (25,000-49,999 kr), Gold-Matros (50,000-99,999 kr), and Platinum-Matros (100,000+ kr annually).
3. Foundation and Fund Support: Non-profit organization receives grants from foundations including A.P. Møller Fonden (5 million DKK for technology communities), Trygfonden (Piratskibet), Villum Fonden and Novo Nordisk (volunteer project), LEGO Foundation (Online Club, FIRST LEGO League), and PA-Foundation (Hello Ada project).
4. Event Fees: Fees for special events like Game Jam (250 DKK for participation) and other national events. Revenue supports event organization and activities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Coding Pirates is a Danish non-profit association that runs weekly after-school technology club nights for children and youth aged 7-17, where they learn coding, game development, robotics, and maker skills through hands-on, volunteer-led activities. The organization operates 58 local associations and 71 departments across Denmark, supplements in-person clubs with the Piratskibet online learning platform and the Onlineklubben for children with school absenteeism, and runs national events including Game Jam and the FIRST LEGO League.

Product overview

Coding Pirates is a non-profit association offering a portfolio of educational technology programs for children and young people aged 7-17. The core offering consists of weekly club nights (Klubaftener) where children learn coding, game development, robotics, and maker skills through hands-on activities. This is supplemented by the Piratskibet online learning platform (a curated digital platform for children under 13), the Onlineklubben remote club for children experiencing school avoidance, and the Frivilligportalen volunteer management hub. Coding Pirates operates through 58 local associations and 71 branches nationwide, supported by school partnerships (Coding Pirates-skole), the FIRST LEGO League robotics program, and the annual Game Jam competition. The organization also offers a Piratpagt (Pirate Pact) partnership model for schools and organizations wanting to establish local branches, an Erhvervsklub business membership program, and a Webshop for merchandise. All programs are volunteer-driven and designed to build children's productive and creative IT competencies through play, exploration, and community.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Piratskibet: Online learning platform with curated educational content and fun projects for children and adults
• Onlineklubben
• FIRST LEGO League
• Game Jam
• Bornhack

Products and services

• Klubaftener (Club Nights) Weekly club nights for children aged 7-17, typically 2 hours per session, where participants work on coding, game development, robotics, and maker projects with the support of adult volunteers.
• Piratskibet Online Learning Platform An online platform providing curated educational content and projects for children and adults, with content specifically designed to be safe for children under 13.
• Onlineklubben (Online Club) An online club for children aged 7-14 experiencing school absenteeism, offering digital community sessions with small groups (up to 10 children per module) divided by age.
• FIRST LEGO League (Denmark operator) A global knowledge and technology tournament for children aged 4-16 introducing STEM through robotics and innovation challenges, operated by Coding Pirates in Denmark, Iceland, Faroe Islands, and Greenland.
• Game Jam Annual Competition An annual 24-hour national competition where children and young people work in teams to design, develop, and code a game, Coding Pirates' largest annual event since 2014.
• Piratpagt (Pirate Pact) Partnership Program A flexible partnership model that allows schools, libraries, companies, makerspaces, and youth clubs to establish a local Coding Pirates branch without forming an independent association.
• Coding Pirates-skole (School Partnership Program) A school partnership program providing teaching materials, teacher training and sparring, network access, and participation in Coding Pirates events like FIRST LEGO League and Game Jam.
• Erhvervsklub (Business Club) A corporate partnership program allowing companies to engage in strengthening Danish children's digital skills, with tiered sponsorship packages (Sapphire, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum Matros).
• Frivilligportalen (Volunteer Portal) A central hub for Coding Pirates volunteers offering guidance, guides, and inspiration for running local associations and managing club activities.
• Medlemssystemet (Membership System) A member administration system for managing children's enrollments, waitlists, event registration, and payment processing for Coding Pirates clubs and events.

Quantifiable outcome

• 986 children in grades 4-6 reached through Piratskibet coding activities
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• PA-FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to open more associations in Greater Copenhagen area, including one at PA Foundation, and create better participation opportunities for all children regardless of gender and background. Includes Hello Ada initiative for girls.
• FIRST LEGO LeaguecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoding Pirates is the official operator of FIRST LEGO League in Denmark, Iceland, Faroe Islands, and Greenland - a global STEM competition for children aged 4-16.
• Danish Space AgencyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Projekt Rumrejsen (Space Journey) collaboration when Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen went to ISS in 2023.
• Center for CybersikkerhedminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for developing cybersecurity content for Piratskibet platform, teaching children about safe online practices.
• FIRST InspiresminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal organization behind FIRST LEGO League providing program framework and international competition structure.
• SpecialsportminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to help children with special needs find suitable leisure activities. Specialsport provides training and visibility for Coding Pirates departments that accept children with special needs.
• Utzon Center AalborgminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration between Coding Pirates Aalborg and Utzon Center's Arki-Lab makerspace, where architecture-interested children meet technology-interested children to create unique projects together.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Khan Academy: A broad nonprofit educational platform that includes a significant computer programming curriculum for school-age learners. Khan Academy is comparable as a free, web-distributed educational provider targeting children and youth, but operates at much larger scope.
• Code.org: The largest US-based nonprofit promoting computer science education in schools worldwide. Code.org operates at far greater scale through curriculum, Hour of Code, and policy advocacy; it is comparable because it pursues the same end (broadening children's access to coding) but through a different, primarily web-distributed model.

Emerging players

• Kids Code Jeunesse: A Canadian nonprofit offering inclusive coding programs for children, including underserved communities. KCJ is comparable because it pursues the same mission of broadening kids' access to coding through community-based delivery, anchored in foundation funding.
• Tynker: A commercial kids coding platform offering guided courses, game creation, and a school-distribution channel. Tynker is comparable to the Piratskibet platform's curriculum function but is commercial rather than volunteer-driven.

Others

• Micro:bit Educational Foundation: A nonprofit driving adoption of the micro:bit pocket-sized computer in schools worldwide. The foundation is adjacent as a STEM-computing tool provider and is relevant because FIRST LEGO League-style robotics activities in Coding Pirates rely on similar educational hardware.
• Scratch Foundation: The foundation curating the Scratch block-based programming language and online community used widely in kids coding education. Scratch is a tool that Coding Pirates programs rely on (e.g., Piratskibet uses Scratch), making it an enabling ecosystem peer rather than a competitor.
• App-Inventor Foundation / MIT App Inventor: An MIT-hosted visual programming platform that empowers children to build mobile apps. MIT App Inventor is a comparable kid-friendly creative-coding environment that overlaps with coding education nonprofits like Coding Pirates.

Direct peers

• Code Club: A UK-based charity (also part of the Raspberry Pi Foundation) running volunteer-led after-school coding clubs for children aged 9-13. Code Club shares Coding Pirates' subscription model, project-based learning, and volunteer instruction approach almost identically.
• CoderDojo: A global volunteer-led movement of free coding clubs for young people, now part of the Raspberry Pi Foundation. CoderDojo is the closest international analog to Coding Pirates' model of volunteer-run local chapters that teach children programming and digital making.

Regional players

• Lær Kidsa Koding: A Norwegian volunteer-led nonprofit teaching children to code, with a similar chapter-based, free-club model. LKK is the most relevant Nordic neighbor; comparable in mission and structure though it serves a different national market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/codingpirates

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Coding Pirates