MAKING IT STEAM: Makeblock, a Chinese company based in Shenzhen, has raised 300 million yuan (approximately US$44 million) in a Series C round led by CICC ALPHA. Other investors include Yuexiu Industrial Investment Fund, GX Capital and Everest Capital. This latest found gives the company an estimated $367 million valuation.
Founded in 2013, Makeblock offers coding hardware toys and kits that aim to introduce children to STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) skills. In the press release, the company claims its products are used in more than 20,000 schools across the world, “including 7,000 middle schools in France and over 50 percent of middle schools in Hong Kong.” It also boasts 1,600 partners that help distribute its tools.
According to the South China Morning Post, 70 percent of sales came from overseas, with the U.S. being its biggest market. That figure could change. “The trade war between the US and China has had some negative impact on our business, for example the tax on some products sold to the US has increased. But I do not think it will stop our investment to expand in the US market,” Wang Jianjun, Makeblock’s founder and CEO, told the press outlet.
