Vivita

What Vivita does

Vivita is a Tallinn-headquartered non-profit foundation (Vivita Foundation for Educational Innovation) that operates a global network of free maker studios called Vivistops for children aged 5-16 across seven countries (Estonia, Japan, Lithuania, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, United States). Its core offering is open, no-curriculum creative learning spaces equipped with 3D printers, laser cutters, sewing machines, and other fabrication tools, staffed by local mentors who guide children through self-directed projects rooted in design thinking, prototyping, and entrepreneurship.

The organization's proprietary technology stack centers on Viviware, an open-source, modular hardware and software ecosystem for rapid prototyping that includes Viviware Cell (a cloud-based programming environment), Viviware Panels (configurable prototyping panels for large-scale builds), and Playful Struggles (a 66-card design thinking game). Viviboom, a members-only online portal, tracks child membership, project sharing, and serves as a digital key to physical studios. Supporting programmes include the Vivinaut Agency (real-client business projects), Vista Global (a kids' accelerator), Vivita Robocon (robotics competition), the Vivita Design Sprint methodology, and ViviHu (a mobile lab in Lithuania). In 2024 Vivita released its full operational model under a Creative Commons License, enabling third parties to launch independent Vivistops.

Vivita's commercial revenue is thin and decentralized: Estonia studio rentals (€150-€700 per session), product sales of Playful Struggles (€30.50 per unit), and fee-based innovation consultancy and workshop facilitation for organizations (Prisma, Wellington City Council, Seaplane Harbour, Brent International School, Estonian Academy of Arts, among others). The majority of operating funding is sourced from grants, partnerships, and donations rather than user fees, as access to Vivistops is free for all children. Regional operations are housed in country-specific legal entities (nonprofits in the US, Lithuania, Philippines, Estonia; private limited companies in Singapore and New Zealand; school-operated and corporate-operated entities in Japan).

Name

Vivita

Legal name

Vivita Foundation for Educational Innovation

Website

https://vivita.global

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Vivita is a non-profit foundation operating a global network of free Vivistop maker studios in seven countries, where children aged 5-16 use Viviware prototyping tools, design thinking methods, and mentor-guided projects to build creative and entrepreneurial skills.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Children's Creative Education and Maker Spaces

NAICS

Computer Training (611420), Software Publishers (5132)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industry

Low-Code/No-Code Application Platforms (HDAEAKAA)

Keywords

• Children maker studios
• Educational prototyping tools
• Design thinking programs
• Youth creativity labs
• Innovation consultancy

Headquarters

HQ city

Tallinn

HQ country

Estonia

HQ region

Europe

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Studio Rental: The Estonia studio is available for rental for events, workshops, seminars, conferences, and ideathons. The 300m² space includes workshop areas and full facilities.
2. Venue rental: Renting out the prototyping laboratory space for corporate events, team building sessions, and creative workshops. Pricing from €400-€700 depending on duration.
3. Product Sales - Playful Struggles: Sale of Playful Struggles card game, a design thinking tool priced at €30.50 per unit. Available for pre-order and direct purchase.
4. Innovation Consultancy Services: Kid-centric innovation consultancy helping public and private organizations fix real problems and create inclusive causes, products, and services. Revenue generated through project fees.
5. Workshop Facilitation: Facilitating design thinking and creativity workshops for schools, youth centers, and educational platforms. Customized programs integrating Vivita's tools and methodologies.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Vivita operates a global network of free Vivistop creativity studios for children aged 5–16 across 7 countries, providing access to maker tools, prototyping equipment, and design thinking methodology. The organization develops the proprietary Viviware open-source hardware/software ecosystem for rapid prototyping, runs the Viviboom membership portal, sells the Playful Struggles card game, and provides kid-centric innovation consultancy and workshop facilitation services to organizations.

Product overview

Vivita operates a global network of Vivistop creativity studios across 7 countries on 4 continents, providing free access to children for hands-on making, design thinking, and prototyping. The core product portfolio consists of Vivistop Studios (the physical maker spaces), Viviware (an open-source modular hardware and software ecosystem for rapid prototyping including Viviware Cell and Viviware Panels), and Viviboom (a membership-based educational online portal for tracking and sharing projects). Supporting products include Playful Struggles (a design thinking card game), the Vivita Design Sprint methodology (a structured workshop approach), the Vivinaut Agency Programme (real-client business projects for kids), VIVITA Vista (global accelerator programme for kids), and ViviHu (a mobile laboratory in Lithuania). The Vivistop Studio in Estonia is also available for rental for external events and workshops.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Viviware: Easy-to-use open-source modular software and hardware ecosystem that empowers children to unleash their creativity through rapid prototyping with minimal programming required.
• Viviboom
• Vista Global
• Vivita Robocon
• Vivistop
• Vivinaut
• Design Sprint
• Playful Struggles
• ViviHu

Products and services

• Vivistop Studios Free creative learning spaces (maker studios) for children aged 5–16, equipped with various tools, devices, machines, and materials for tinkering and creating. Children freely explore, experiment, and create under professional mentorship with no teachers or curriculum.
• Viviware Open-source, modular, and scalable hardware and software ecosystem designed for children to enable rapid prototyping with minimal programming. Includes Viviware Cell (cloud-based programming platform) and Viviware Panels (configurable prototyping panels for large-scale spaces and furniture). Developed by Vivita engineers, designers, and product experts.
• Viviboom Membership-based educational online portal for Vivinauts (registered children), providing digital project sharing, peer-to-peer social features, badges, chat, and a digital entrance-key system used at Vivistop studios. Not accessible to non-members or search engines.
• Playful Struggles Prototyping card game born from the collective wisdom of children globally. Contains 66 cards: 6 mindset cards, 42 question cards, and 18 bonus cards for collaboration. Designed to guide young change-makers through the design thinking process. Available for purchase at €30.50 per set.
• Vivita Design Sprint Child-friendly workshop series that guides participants from defining a problem to creating a prototype. Includes specially developed tools such as worksheets, notebooks, and design thinking games. A six-step methodology provides playful and creativity-boosting tools for organizations and educators.
• VIVITA Vista (Vista Global) Global accelerator programme for kids where children create products or services by solving self-identified problems under mentorship, building entrepreneurial skills and real-world project experience.
• Vivinaut Agency Programme Creative programme where children work with mentors on real-life client assignments and business projects. Includes a Vivinauts' business agency (solving real client problems) and a Vivinauts' advertising agency (creating social advertising campaigns).
• ViviHu Creativity-driven mobile laboratory (Lithuania-specific) where children's ideas, technology, and art come together. A place for children and teenagers to create and experiment independently using different materials and tools.
• Vivistop Studio Rental (Estonia) Rental of the Estonia prototyping studio space (300 m²) in Telliskivi Creative City for events, workshops, seminars, and idea sprints. Capacity up to 80 people standing or 50 seated. Equipped with 3D printers, laser cutters, sewing machines, and vacuum former. Full-day rental: €700, half-day: €400, hourly: €150.
• Innovation Consultancy Services Kid-centric innovation consultancy helping public and private organizations fix real problems and create inclusive causes, products, and services. Revenue generated through project fees for design sprints, co-creation workshops, and research-backed recommendations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1,100 children have visited Vivita studios over 12,000+ times
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Lithuanian Design Association (LDA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2024Launched the 'Vivinauts (...) Agency' program where students created social advertising campaigns for the 1.2% income tax initiative awareness.
• Brent International School BaguiocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2023Key collaborator for Robocon 2023 robotics competition in the Philippines. Provided venue and organizational support, contributing significantly to the event's success. Represents a model of partnership with educational institutions for STEM initiatives.
• Estonian Academy of ArtscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2020Collaborated on an elective course on social design focusing on co-creation with children. Eight students partnered with fourteen children from Vivistop Telliskivi over three months to address studio redesign challenges.
• Kaunas Technology University Chemical Technology FacultycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on food innovation research for the Future Food Festival, working with scientists on future food development for children.
• PipelifeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to create transportable free play areas using pipes for children's play installations at festivals and public spaces. Developed custom-shaped plates for pipe stabilization.
• Seaplane Harbour (Lennusadam)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on Vivita Design Sprint where children designed an exhibition experience for the maritime museum based on their own vision.
• Wellington City CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEngaged Vivita to provide research-backed recommendations on leveraging city assets to increase play in Wellington inner city and create child-friendly environments.
• EVolocityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNationwide STEM program for NZ students. Vivinauts from Vivistop Welly participated in EVolocity to design, build, and race electric vehicles.
• FTN MotionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWellington-based electric motorbike startup. Vivinauts visited the company and had design sessions with one of the founders to inspire their Vivibike project.
• Vivita Japan, Vivita Singapore, Vivita LithuaniacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal Vivita network collaboration where team members from multiple countries joined forces to make Robocon 2023 a success, creating knowledge exchange that transcended borders.
• Sound Artists (Erik Alalooga, Taavi Suisalu, Mari-Liis Rebane, Liisa Hirsch, Aivar Tõnso)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEstonian sound artists who contributed insights and techniques for capturing and manipulating sounds for the 'Sound Journey' installation project.
• Telliskivi Creative CitycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCreative city complex in Tallinn where Vivita's main studio is located, providing the physical space and community ecosystem for the innovation center.
• Prisma Family MarketcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of the largest supermarket chains in Northern Europe. Engaged Vivita to have children generate ideas for innovating children's checkout counter through collaborative design workshops.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Micro:bit Educational Foundation: Nonprofit stewarding the open-source BBC micro:bit hardware platform for children's coding and prototyping. Highly comparable to Vivita's Viviware ecosystem: open-source hardware, kid-focused programming tools, and global non-commercial distribution model.
• FIRST Robotics: Global nonprofit running robotics competitions (FIRST LEGO League, FRC) for kids and youth. Directly comparable to Vivita's Robocon competitions and broader mission of building STEM skills and creativity through competitive, project-based programs.
• Maker Ed: US-based nonprofit advancing maker education for youth through a global network of maker spaces and educator programs. Closely comparable to Vivita in mission, nonprofit structure, and community-driven maker education model.
• Fab Foundation: Nonprofit stewarding the global Fab Lab network of community maker spaces. Closely comparable to Vivita's Vivistop studio network: distributed maker facilities providing shared access to fabrication tools and creative learning.
• Arduino Education: Education arm of Arduino offering open-source hardware kits, curricula, and STEAM programs for schools. Comparable to Vivita's Viviware Cell/Panels and robotics programs in targeting schools and children with open-source prototyping tools.
• Code Club: Global network of free volunteer-led coding clubs for kids aged 9-13, run as part of the Raspberry Pi Foundation. Comparable to Vivita's free-access, community-led model of distributing creative learning to children.

Others

• IDEO: Global design and innovation consultancy widely credited with developing modern design thinking methodology. Comparable to Vivita's Design Sprint methodology and innovation consultancy services for corporates and public-sector organizations.

Emerging players

• Tinkercad (Autodesk): Free browser-based 3D design and electronics simulation tool widely used in K-12 STEM education. Comparable to Vivita's Viviware digital tools for child-friendly prototyping and making.
• Kaospilot: Education venture offering creative leadership and entrepreneurship programs for young people using design thinking and project-based learning. Comparable to Vivita's Vista Global accelerator and focus on entrepreneurial mindset for youth.

Broad incumbents

• LEGO Education: Division of the LEGO Group providing STEAM learning solutions, robotics kits (SPIKE, Mindstorms), and curricula to schools worldwide. A much larger, commercially backed incumbent serving the same kid/education customer with hands-on creative tools.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@VIVISTOPTelliskivi
• Facebookfacebook.com/VivitaGlobal
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/vivita-global
• Instagraminstagram.com/vivitaglobal

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries12 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 Vivita