What odyssey universe does

Odyssey Universe is a Colombian non-profit organization that organizes space robotics competitions, educational programs, and an aerospace conference for youth and students across Latin America. Its core product portfolio consists of three programs: Odyssey Competition, a multi-phase rover design and programming challenge (PDR/CDR/SAR) for teams of 15 students aged 15+ simulating Mars missions; Odyssey Kids, a drone piloting and programming competition for children aged 8-15; and Odyssey Conference, an annual event featuring NASA, European Rover Challenge, and LATAM aerospace speakers. All competition activities are anchored at Ori\u00f3n Campamento Interestelar in the Tatacoa Desert, whose Mars-analog terrain and Starlight-certified dark sky serve as both a physical and thematic differentiator. The technology stack is built around student-built rovers and drones leveraging computer vision, autonomous navigation, and sample-collection workflows, with enterprise-grade 3D design and simulation tooling provided through a partnership with Dassault Syst\u00e8mes.

Odyssey Universe monetizes primarily through one-time competition registration fees (approximately $24.9M COP for a full Competition team package including accommodation; approximately $12M COP plus VAT for an Odyssey Kids team), a three-tiered corporate sponsorship program (Bronze Discovery, Silver Quest, Gold Endurance at $100K to $10M+ COP), and an online store for merchandise and registrations, while the Conference itself is offered free of charge as a brand-building platform. Go-to-market is event- and community-led: the organization recruits via direct outreach to schools and universities across Colombia and LATAM, leverages Instagram/YouTube/LinkedIn for top-of-funnel awareness, and is extending reach through a regional competition organizer channel that allows partner institutions to host Odyssey-branded events. The customer base is highly distributed across educational institutions (Gimnasio Los Caobos, Universidad de Los Andes, SENA, UPB, Pinarte, Gimnasio del Norte), with cumulative participation cited at 200+ across all programs and 50 rovers built since inception.

The organization operates with a 6-person core team (Co-Founders Alejandro Serna as General Director and Mario Vargas as Commercial Director, plus directors of design, logistics, marketing, and audiovisual production) and relies on a network of strategic partners including ICRA for robotics/AI curriculum, Ori\u00f3n Campamento as venue host, GIZMO for design and 3D printing, and Dassault Syst\u00e8mes for software. Founded circa 2023 in Medell\u00edn, with operations centered in Villavieja (Huila), the company is registered in Colombia and compliant with local data protection regulation (SIC/Law 1581). It has no disclosed funding rounds, no institutional investors, and no parent company, operating as a founder-led, bootstrapped non-profit.

Name

odyssey universe

Legal name

Odyssey Universe

Website

https://universoodyssey.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Odyssey Universe is a Colombian non-profit that runs space robotics competitions, drone programming programs, and an aerospace conference for students aged 8+ across Latin America, anchored at a Mars-analog site in the Tatacoa Desert and monetized via team registration fees and corporate sponsorships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

STEM Education Services

NAICS

Sports and Recreation Instruction (611620), Amusement and Theme Parks (71311)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Space & Astronomy Programs (EDAMABAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Educational Adventure Programs (Outdoor Education, Skill Development) (THAAAAAO), Youth Adventure Camps & Summer Programs (THAAAOAB)

Keywords

• Space robotics competitions
• STEAM education programs
• Rover design challenges
• Drone programming contests
• Aerospace conferences

Headquarters

HQ city

Medellín

HQ country

Colombia

HQ region

Latin America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Competition Registration Fees: Odyssey Competition charges registration fees structured in three phases: PDR ($2,500,000 COP), CDR ($11,200,000 COP), and SAR (included). Total package for 15 students + 1 mentor including 4 nights accommodation at Orion Camp is $24,900,000 COP.
2. Odyssey Kids Registration: Team registration at $3,000,000 COP plus individual attendee fee at $1,550,000 COP. Package includes 5 days/4 nights camping, meals, certifications in robotics, astronomy, astrophotography, and paleontology.
3. Conference Attendance: Odyssey Conference 2026 held at Parque Explora Medellín on April 29, 2026. Free admission event featuring international speakers from NASA, European Rover Challenge, and LATAM aerospace leaders.
4. Corporate Sponsorship Programs: Three-tiered sponsorship model: Gold Endurance ($10,000,000+ COP) with maximum visibility benefits, Silver Quest ($1,000,000-$9,999,999 COP) for mid-sized companies, and Bronze Discovery ($100,000-$999,999 COP) for individuals and startups.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Odyssey Universe organizes space robotics competitions and educational programs for youth across Latin America. Its core offerings include Odyssey Competition (rover design and programming for ages 15+), Odyssey Kids (drone piloting and programming for ages 8-15), and Odyssey Conference (aerospace knowledge-sharing event). All events are hosted at the Orión Campamento Interestelar in the Tatacoa Desert, Colombia, combining hands-on STEAM education with astronomical observation experiences.

Product overview

Odyssey Universe operates a platform of three interconnected space robotics programs: Odyssey Competition (rover design and programming for ages 15+), Odyssey Kids (drone piloting and programming for ages 8-15), and Odyssey Conference (expert-led space exploration conference). All events are hosted at the Orion Interstellar Camp in the Tatacoa Desert, Colombia, and include complementary activities such as astronomical observation, astrophotography, and scientific outreach. The ecosystem is supported by an online store for registrations and three-tiered sponsorship packages (Gold Endurance, Silver Quest, Bronze Discovery) for corporate partners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Odyssey Competition: Space robotics competition where youth design and program rovers to overcome challenges in extreme terrains, promoting STEAM skills and interest in space exploration.
• Odyssey Kids
• Odyssey Conference

Products and services

• Odyssey Competition Space robotics competition held in the Tatacoa Desert where teams of students aged 15+ (15 students + 1 mentor) design and program rovers capable of completing Mars exploration missions including autonomous navigation, astronaut support, and scientific sample collection and analysis. Includes PDR, CDR, and SAR phase reviews.
• Odyssey Kids Drone robotics competition and educational program for children ages 8-15 where participants pilot and program drones to overcome challenges. Includes aerial mobility, autonomous mode programming, image capture missions, and precision flying exercises combined with paleontological and astronomical experiences.
• Odyssey Conference Annual space robotics and exploration conference held at Parque Explora Medellín featuring national and international experts including NASA scientists and European Rover Challenge representatives who share knowledge through lectures and panels on rover technology, satellite development, space law, and planetary exploration.
• Odyssey Store Online e-commerce store offering competition registrations and event-related merchandise for Odyssey Universe programs.

Quantifiable outcome

• 200+ students trained in space robotics across LATAM
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 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

AI capability4 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

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

• ICRA (Innovación en Ciencia y Robótica Aplicada)coreTechnology or IntegrationICRA is a mobile robotics and AI startup that provides technical expertise in robotics competition design. They co-certify Odyssey Kids participants and contribute robotics curriculum for the programs. ICRA specializes in mobile robots for agriculture, logistics, and cleaning applications, as well as computer vision systems.
• Orión Campamento InterestelarcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAstronomical camp located in Tatacoa Desert providing the competition venue, accommodations, astronomical observation equipment, and certified dark sky protection. Hosts astronomical activities, astrophotography workshops, and serves as the base for all competition events. Certified Starlight monitor for dark sky preservation.
• Daniel Kuru AudiovisualminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAudiovisual production company providing professional video production, photography, FPV drone flights, digital marketing strategies, and web design services for event documentation and promotion.
• Dassault SystèmesflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal software company specializing in 3D design and simulation platforms. Strategic partnership to drive aerospace innovation in LATAM through virtual simulation tools for competition design and participant training. Provides enterprise-grade design software access for competition teams.
• Miguel Monroy (Miguel El Fotógrafo)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerMarketing strategist, advertising photographer, and web designer providing services to improve small and medium business visibility. Active astrophotographer affiliated with Orion Camp, Constelación Colombia, and Astrofotografía Chile.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• European Rover Challenge: European Rover Challenge is the closest international analogue to Odyssey Competition: a student rover-design competition set in Mars-like terrain, with multiple engineering phases and international teams. Odyssey Universe explicitly cites the European Rover Challenge as a speaker and partner reference, making it the most directly comparable peer in the space-robotics competition category.
• NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge: NASA's annual rover-design challenge pits student teams against human-powered and engineering tasks mirroring real NASA missions. Both Odyssey Competition and the NASA HRC center on student-built rovers tackling simulated planetary exploration, sharing the same rover-competition DNA and similar demographic (high school and university students).
• FIRST Robotics Competition: FIRST runs the world's largest youth robotics competition series, with team-based engineering challenges, mentor-led participation, and a global championship structure. Odyssey Universe targets a comparable demographic (students 15+ with team/mentor format) and pursues a similar mission of workforce-pipeline STEAM development through competition.
• World Robot Olympiad: World Robot Olympiad organizes country-level and international robotics tournaments for school-aged teams with structured challenges and categories by age. Odyssey Kids and Odyssey Competition are direct regional analogues, both emphasizing team-based robotics challenges and a tiered age structure.
• VEX Robotics Competition: VEX Robotics runs one of the largest educational robotics competition platforms globally, with team-based engineering challenges and a multi-tier tournament structure across many countries, including in Latin America where it competes for the same institutional STEAM-education budgets.
• Zero Robotics: Zero Robotics is an MIT-run international student programming competition where teams control satellites aboard the ISS. It shares Odyssey's space-themed student engineering format and STEAM-development positioning, though it is software-only rather than rover hardware.
• Botball / KIPR Robotics: Botball, run by KIPR, runs team-based autonomous robotics competitions for middle and high school students with structured curriculum. It overlaps directly with Odyssey Kids and Odyssey Competition in target demographic, competition-based pedagogy, and educational robotics positioning.
• CanSat Competition (ESA): ESA's CanSat Competition has student teams design and build a miniature satellite simulating a full space project lifecycle. Like Odyssey Competition, it emphasizes hands-on space-engineering for student teams and shares a similar learning-by-building-and-launching pedagogy with a regional competition format.

Broad incumbents

• RoboCup: RoboCup is a broader, more established international robotics competition with multiple leagues including rescue and junior categories. It overlaps in team structure and STEAM-development mission, but RoboCup's broader scope and global incumbency make it a comparable space-incumbent rather than a direct niche competitor.

Emerging players

• Mars Society (Mars Desert Research Station outreach): The Mars Society runs the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah and global outreach programs promoting Mars exploration. Its analog-research-station format and STEM-outreach mission parallel Odyssey Universe's Mars-terrain Tatacoa site and youth-engagement focus, positioning it as a thematic adjacent peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@OdysseyUniverse
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/odyssey-universe
• Instagraminstagram.com/odyssey_universe

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 odyssey universe