The High Tech Foundation

What The High Tech Foundation does

The High Tech Foundation (Fundacja Zaawansowanych Technologii, FZT) is a Polish non-profit foundation established in 2011 by Władysław Halbersztadt and headquartered in Warsaw, operating a distributed remote team across nine Polish cities. Its core mission is the discovery and development of young STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) talent via the flagship Explory competition, which has aggregated 2,700+ student projects, 5,000+ Explorer community members, and nearly 1.8 million PLN in disbursed prizes over 14 years. FZT holds the exclusive mandate to represent Poland at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), where 53 of its representatives have won 33 awards and distinctions.

The foundation's product portfolio has expanded beyond the annual Explory competition (held as Gdynia Explory Week since 2013) and hybrid school festivals to include Talent Open (a 90-day remote-first startup accelerator launched in 2024 with AI and automation focus), the 7 Minut o Nauce popular science podcast, and the Zmiana Edukacji YouTube channel. Programs are delivered through a hybrid in-person and online format to schools, universities, and municipalities.

Revenue is generated through a multi-stream non-profit model: corporate sponsorships (ORLEN as flagship patron, DPD Polska, Polpharma, BGK, Solve for Tomorrow, Aramco, Intel, 3M, Sanofi, Patpol, INVESTIN), central government grants (Ministry of Education, Ministry of Science, PARP, NCBR), and regional voivodeship and municipal funding from nine Polish cities and four voivodeships. Talent Open is free for students and charges fees for other participants (freemium). The foundation is not a commercial enterprise and does not disclose revenue.

Name

The High Tech Foundation

Legal name

Fundacja Zaawansowanych Technologii

Website

https://fzt.org.pl

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The High Tech Foundation (Fundacja Zaawansowanych Technologii) is a Polish non-profit that runs STEAM talent programs, including the Explory competition, school festivals, and Talent Open accelerator, serving young innovators, schools, municipalities, and corporate sponsors across Poland.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

STEAM Education and Youth Talent Development

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

STEM, Digital Literacy & Maker Education Nonprofits (BPAGADAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK), Corporate Learning & Training Content Development (EDAGAKAC)

Keywords

• STEAM education programs
• Youth talent development
• Science competition platform
• Startup acceleration program
• Founder nonprofit foundation

Headquarters

HQ city

Warsaw

HQ country

Poland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Partner Sponsorships and Patronage: Financial support from corporate sponsors (ORLEN, DPD Polska, Solve for Tomorrow, and others), municipal governments, and regional authorities. Partners help fund the Explory competition, talent programs, and prize money.
2. Government Grants and Funding: Support from government institutions including Ministry of Education (MEN), Ministry of Science and Higher Education (MNiSW), PARP, NCBR, and regional voivodeships for STEAM education initiatives.
3. Talent Open Accelerator Fees: Revenue from startup acceleration program building remote-first companies, with free access for students and fees for other participants.
4. Prize Fund Disbursements: Nearly 1.8 million PLN in prize money distributed to Explory competition winners and participants.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The High Tech Foundation (Fundacja Zaawansowanych Technologii / FZT) is a Polish nonprofit foundation that discovers and develops young STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) talent through the Explory science competition, the Talent Open 90-day startup accelerator for remote-first companies, school festivals, regional events, and the 7 Minut o Nauce podcast. It serves as the exclusive Polish representative at the Regeneron International Science Engineering Fair (ISEF) in the United States.

Product overview

The High Tech Foundation (Fundacja Zaawansowanych Technologii) operates as an educational foundation focused on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) talent development. The organization offers a portfolio of interconnected programs: Explory serves as the flagship science competition and event platform for young talents; Talent Open provides startup acceleration services; 7 Minut o Nauce delivers educational podcast content; and Zmiana Edukacji facilitates discussions about education reform. The programs are designed to connect young people with experienced experts, startups, enterprises, NGOs, public institutions, schools, and universities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Explory: A competition program for young STEAM talents up to 20 years old, discovering and developing young talent since 2011. Winners and laureates represent Poland at ISEF in the USA.
• Talent Open
• 7 Minut o Nauce
• Zmiana Edukacji

Products and services

• Explory Annual science competition for young STEAM talents up to 20 years old, supporting innovative STEAM projects and providing international representation at ISEF. Includes school festivals, regional events, and the Gdynia Explory Week final.
• Talent Open 90-day remote startup accelerator program that helps founders build remote-first companies, teams, and products using AI and business automation. Free for students with fees for other participants.
• School Explory Festivals (Szkolne Explory) School-based festival program that scales STEutions to schools nationwide, enabling hands-on STEAM engagement and connecting students with the broader Explory competition.
• 7 Minut o Nauce Podcast Official podcast of young talents conducted by Explory participants (Explorerski i Eksplorerki), featuring 7-minute popular science explanations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly 1.8 million PLN in prizes disbursed to young STEAM talents
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

23 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Miasto GdyniaflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Main host city for Gdynia Explory Week finals since 2013. Gdynia has been the primary location for the annual Explory competition finals, representing one of the foundation's longest-standing partnerships.
• ORLENflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Patron and strategic partner of Explory program, providing significant financial and substantive support for young talent development in STEAM fields.
• PPNT Gdynia (Pomorski Park Naukowo-Technologiczny)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Partner in hosting Explory events and supporting the STEAM talent ecosystem in the Tricity region of Poland.
• Centrum Nauki ExperymentcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Science center partner supporting Explory as an educational partner, providing venue and expertise for science outreach activities.
• DPD PolskacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Logistics partner supporting Explory competition, enabling prize and material distribution for young talent programs.
• Solve for TomorrowcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011STEM education initiative partner collaborating on talent development and innovation support programs.
• Polskie Radio CzwórkacoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2011Official media partner of Explory, providing broadcast coverage and promotional support for the competition and young talent achievements.
• m. st. Warszawa (City of Warsaw)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Current host city for Explory events, supporting young talent development initiatives in the capital region.
• Miasto WrocławcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Host city partner supporting Explory events and regional STEAM education initiatives.
• Miasto ToruńminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Regional host city for Explory activities, supporting local young talent engagement.
• Miasto ElblągminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Regional host city partner for Explory regional events.
• Miasto PłockminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Regional host city partner for Explory activities.
• Województwo DolnośląskiecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Regional government partner providing financial support for Explory and STEAM education initiatives.
• Województwo MazowieckiecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Regional government partner supporting young talent development in the largest Polish voivodeship.
• Województwo Kujawsko-PomorskieminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Regional government partner for Explory activities in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian region.
• Województwo Warmińsko-MazurskieminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Regional government partner for STEAM talent initiatives.
• Kancelaria Patentowa PatpolcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Patent law firm partner providing intellectual property expertise and support for young innovators' projects.
• INVESTINcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Investment and innovation partner supporting startup development within the Explory ecosystem.
• EF AcademyminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Educational institution partner supporting international academic pathways for young talents.
• Fundacja Polska InnowacyjnaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Foundation partner in the innovation ecosystem, supporting young talent development.
• Fundacja Innovations HubminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Innovation hub foundation partner providing startup ecosystem support.
• Fundacja Centrum Twórczości NarodowejminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Cultural foundation partner supporting creative aspects of STEAM education.
• UnityHubminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Technology ecosystem partner supporting digital aspects of the programs.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves14 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Center for Talented Youth (Johns Hopkins CTY): US-based talent identification and academic enrichment program for gifted pre-college students; globally recognized leader in STEAM talent development. Mirrors FZT's model of identifying high-potential youth and providing structured programming, competitions, and acceleration pathways.
• Fundacja Edukacyjna Perspektywy: Polish education foundation running STEM-focused rankings, competitions (including the Perspektywy Engineering Diploma), and talent programs. Operates in the same Polish education-talent niche and addresses a similar student/educator audience as FZT.
• Fundacja BNP Paribas: Polish corporate foundation of BNP Paribas Bank Polska, focused on education, social inclusion, and youth development. Comparable structure (corporate-funded Polish foundation) and overlapping beneficiary segments with FZT, particularly around youth talent development.
• FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology): US-headquartered global nonprofit running FIRST Robotics, FIRST LEGO League, and other STEM competitions for K-12 students worldwide. Closely comparable program model to Explory (competition-based STEAM talent development) at significantly larger international scale.
• Society for Science: US-based nonprofit organizer of the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) — the world's largest pre-college STEAM competition with a $9M prize pool. FZT is the exclusive Polish affiliate and works directly with Society for Science to send Polish students to ISEF, making this the closest peer in mission, program structure, and target audience.
• Centrum Nauki Kopernik: Poland's flagship interactive science center based in Warsaw, delivering hands-on STEAM programming, science festivals, and youth engagement at much larger scale. Highly comparable to FZT in target audience (young Polish STEAM audiences), mission (popularizing science and developing young talent), and home geography.
• Junior Achievement Poland: Polish affiliate of Junior Achievement, a global youth entrepreneurship and workforce-readiness education nonprofit. Shares FZT's model of corporate-sponsored, school-based programs developing young talent, and overlaps on the Talent Open accelerator angle of youth venture creation.

Regional players

• Fundacja ORLEN: Corporate foundation of ORLEN — FZT's flagship sponsor and patron of the Explory program. Operates as a parallel Polish grantmaking and educational-support foundation with substantially larger financial resources; serves as both a comparable peer and a key dependency for FZT.

Broad incumbents

• Fundacja Polskiego Funduszu Rozwoju (Fundacja PFR): Large Polish state-linked foundation supporting entrepreneurship, education, and innovation across Poland. Comparable mission area (youth talent and startup ecosystem development) but operates at a much larger scale and with broader scope than FZT's specialist STEAM focus.

Others

• Impact Hub Warsaw: Warsaw-based innovation hub and startup ecosystem participant running accelerator-style programs and youth entrepreneurship events. Relevant as an adjacent ecosystem player for FZT's Talent Open accelerator and as a complementary Warsaw STEAM/startup community actor.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@zmianaedukacji683
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fundacja-zaawansowanych-technologii-steam

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about The High Tech Foundation