Robotics Education & Competition Foundation

What Robotics Education & Competition Foundation does

Robotics Education & Competition Foundation (RECF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Greenville, United States, founded in 1990 to deliver STEM education through structured robotics and drone competitions. The foundation's core offering is the VEX Robotics Competition, complemented by the Aerial Drone Competition (ADC), the advanced-tier ADC Pro, Online Challenges, the JROTC Robotics Program, and workforce-development programs including FAA Part 107 certification and industry-recognized credentials. Programs span elementary school through college and serve approximately 1.1 million students across 70 countries, qualifying teams through regional and signature events that culminate in the annual VEX Robotics World Championship held in St. Louis, Missouri.

RECF's business model combines three revenue streams: per-team transaction fees on Signature Events (raised to $10 per team for the 2025-2026 season, up from $5), corporate sponsorship and grants from a roster including Amazon, Chevron, Google, NASA, Tesla, Texas Instruments, Eaton, General Dynamics IT, and Kettering University, and individual/organizational donations earmarked for accessibility and program operations. Go-to-market is event-driven: the foundation licenses a global Event Partner network to host sanctioned competitions, integrates with schools and JROTC units for curricular delivery, and operates a self-serve Online Challenges platform as a top-of-funnel participation channel. Complementary participant-support programs include the Girl Powered initiative, Indigenous Robotics outreach, scholarships, internships, and the International Robotics Honor Society.

The foundation operates with a small core staff of 51-100 employees, orchestrating a significantly larger distributed ecosystem of event partners, volunteers, coaches, and corporate sponsors. Strategic intent visible in the source data centers on expanding the drone and workforce-credentialing surface (ADC Pro, FAA Part 107), diversifying the sponsor base across industries, and steadily extracting more value from flagship events via pricing adjustments while maintaining accessibility through need-based grants.

Name

Robotics Education & Competition Foundation

Legal name

Robotics Education & Competition Foundation

Website

https://rec.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Robotics Education & Competition Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that operates the VEX Robotics Competition, Aerial Drone Competition, ADC Pro, and related workforce-certification programs for students from elementary school through college, serving 1.1 million participants across 70 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

STEM Education and Robotics Competition Programs

NAICS

Other Schools and Instruction (6116)

akta.pro primary industry

Competition Robotics Teams & Coaching (FLL/FTC/FRC, VEX) (EDAMADAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Drones, UAVs & Aerial Robotics Programs (EDAMADAJ)

Keywords

• Robotics education programs
• Drone competition programs
• STEM workforce development
• Robotics competition events
• Youth STEM initiatives

Headquarters

HQ city

Greenville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Team Registration Fees: Registration fees collected from teams participating in competitions. Beginning 2025-2026 season, REC Foundation collects $10 per team on all Signature Events (up from $5 previously)
2. Sponsorship and Grants: Funding from corporate partners including Amazon, Chevron, Google, NASA, Tesla, Texas Instruments, and others to support team grants, event sponsorships, and program development
3. Donations: Individual and organizational donations to support robotics education programs and accessibility initiatives

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

RECF operates robotics and drone competition programs for elementary school through college students, including the flagship VEX Robotics Competition, Aerial Drone Competition (ADC), ADC Pro, and Online Challenges. The foundation supports participants through a network of Event Partners hosting regional, state, and national competitions, with the VEX Robotics World Championship as the annual pinnacle event. Workforce development, FAA Part 107 drone certification training, industry certifications, and the International Robotics Honor Society complement the core competition programs.

Product overview

The Robotics Education & Competition Foundation operates a comprehensive portfolio of robotics and drone competition programs for elementary school through college students, reaching 1.1 million students in 70 countries. The core offerings include the RECF Robotics Competition (the flagship VEX Robotics competition), the Aerial Drone Competition and ADC Pro programs, Online Challenges, and the JROTC Robotics Program. These programs are complemented by workforce development initiatives including FAA Part 107 Training and Industry Certifications. The Foundation also supports participants through grants, scholarships, internships, the Girl Powered initiative, Indigenous Robotics program, and manages the International Robotics Honor Society. The annual VEX Robotics World Championship serves as the pinnacle event for the competition programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Aerial Drone Competition: Aerial drone competition program for students to explore drone careers and develop workforce skills
• ADC Pro
• Online Challenges

Products and services

• RECF Robotics Competition (VEX Robotics Competition) The flagship robotics competition program for middle and high school students that engages participants in hands-on STEM learning through robot design, building, and competition. Teams use programmable robots built with VEX components.
• Aerial Drone Competition (ADC) Teams explore drone careers while developing workforce skills through teamwork and problem-solving using aerial drones. Drones and educator resources are co-developed with partner Robolink.
• ADC Pro (Aerial Drone Competition Pro) Provides students with opportunities to increase awareness and interest in drone technology, industry applications, and career paths in drone and aviation applications.
• Online Challenges Allows students to showcase their work, win prizes, and compete for a chance to participate at the World Championship through an online challenge platform.
• JROTC Robotics Program Robotics program designed specifically for Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps units, providing STEM education integrated into military-affiliated educational settings.
• Workforce Development Program Workforce development initiatives connecting robotics education to industry career pathways for students and participants.
• FAA Part 107 Training Training program helping students obtain FAA Part 107 certification for commercial drone operations, delivered in partnership with flyUSI.
• Industry Certifications Pre-engineering and robotics programs offering industry-recognized certifications to students participating in RECF programs.
• International Robotics Honor Society (IRHS) Honor society recognizing outstanding achievements in robotics education and competition for students.
• VEX Robotics World Championship Annual world championship event bringing together top robotics competition teams from around the globe, held in St. Louis, Missouri. The 2026 event is scheduled for April 21-30, 2026.

Quantifiable outcome

• Participants more likely to consider studying STEM beyond high school

Named customers3 records

Segments3 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

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• General Dynamics ITminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2024General Dynamics IT supports the REC Foundation by providing returning team grants focused in Kentucky, Louisiana, New York, Texas, Missouri, Colorado, Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia.
• EatonminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2023Eaton invests in Factory Automation Competition, Event Partner and Team Grants both domestically and internationally.
• AmazoncoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2022Amazon Future Engineer program partnership with RECF bringing computer science and STEM education through robotics competitions to underserved Indigenous tribes across the United States.
• RobolinkcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2022Robolink began joint effort with RECF to support and sustain the Aerial Drone Competition through designing drones and educator resources.
• Kettering UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Kettering University hosts competitions, Event Partner Summits, and serves as a World Championship Sponsor since 2021.
• TeslaminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2018Tesla provides team support, Coach training, teacher stipends, and mentorship funding in Nevada, as well as continuing education credits through a unique externship program.
• GooglecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Google supports robotics growth, drone team growth, and partnered with RECF to create the Girl Powered Initiative and Google Mentorship program.
• ChevroncoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2014Chevron supports REC Foundation through providing funding to California State Championships, making these events more affordable and impactful for more students.
• Texas InstrumentscoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2013TI sponsors the World Championship, funds Girl Powered Workshops at their headquarters, and provides team equipment grants for Texas.
• NASAcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011NASA and RECF have worked together for over a decade promoting STEM interest and workforce connections by growing robotics competitions at the high school level while supporting professional development for coaches.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology): FIRST runs FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC), FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC), and FIRST LEGO League—the most direct and largest-scale competitor to RECF's VEX Robotics Competition for schools, students, and corporate sponsors in K–12 STEM robotics competitions.
• RoboCup Federation: RoboCup is an international robotics competition organization with a similar global event-tournament structure targeting student and academic participants, comparable in international scale and STEM mission to RECF.
• BEST Robotics: BEST Robotics operates team-based robotics competitions for middle and high school students with a similar event-driven, sponsor-supported, competition-format model closely comparable to RECF's VEX programs.
• MATE ROV Competition: MATE ROV Competition hosts student underwater remotely operated vehicle competitions with a workforce-development angle closely analogous to RECF's robotics-to-career pipeline, including industry sponsorship and championship structure.
• Botball: Botball runs student robotics tournaments with autonomous robot kits, competing for the same school integrations and student mindshare as RECF in K–12 educational robotics competitions.

Broad incumbents

• LEGO Education: LEGO Education provides STEM and robotics education kits (including FIRST LEGO League) used across K–12 globally, making it a broad incumbent competing for the same school budgets and curriculum integrations as RECF.
• Innovation First International / VEX Robotics: VEX Robotics (Innovation First International) designs and manufactures the VEX hardware ecosystem on which RECF's competition platform depends; it is both a core technology partner and a structurally adjacent incumbent with overlapping competition-IP and education business lines.

Emerging players

• Drobots: Drobots runs drone-focused STEM programs and camps for schools and youth organizations, directly overlapping RECF's ADC and ADC Pro audiences in the emerging student-drone-competition niche.

Others

• Robolink: Robolink is a technology and curriculum partner that designs the drones and educator resources underpinning RECF's Aerial Drone Competition and ADC Pro, making it a critical adjacent ecosystem participant.

Peers

• Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy: Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy offers structured STEM robotics curricula and teacher training programs targeting the same K–12 and educator audience as RECF, with comparable workforce-pathway framing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/rec_foundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/robotics-education-competition-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Robotics Education & Competition Foundation