Fingerprint CEO Nancy MacIntyre will head Sandbox Kids and its portfolio of Kidomi, Hopster and Curious World brands, positioning the new company to be a leading service in the rapidly growing digital kids’ market
SAN FRANCISCO/LONDON – March 30, 2021: Fingerprint, a leading global provider of digital content for kids and families, has been acquired by Sandbox & Co., a strategic operator of millennial learning and entertainment companies, to form Sandbox Kids, to deliver on-demand, multimedia, multi-platform, digital subscription services for children and families around the world.
Industry veteran Nancy MacIntyre will serve as CEO and will lead the newly created Sandbox Kids division, which will include existing Sandbox properties Hopster and Curious World alongside Fingerprint’s Kidomi. Nancy will drive the company’s mission to expand content that engages kids while also helping partners build, operate and market subscription services to reach families around the world. Sandbox Kids combines Fingerprint’s award-winning content and subscription expertise with Sandbox’ growing portfolio of global brands and expedites the growth of its customer-base that already reaches more than 55 million families monthly.
Sandbox Kids will offer kid-safe, age-appropriate digital content to the more than 1.14 billion* kids globally who have access to mobile devices. The Sandbox Kids suite of products grows with a child and includes Hopster for ages 1-4, Curious World for ages 4-8 and Kidomi for ages 3-12. In addition, the company will continue to produce exclusive award-winning original content through Hopster Studios. Collectively these products offer more than 8,000 premium, award-winning videos, games, interactive books, songs, podcasts, and audio stories that are available globally in over 100 countries and 23 languages, with over 7 million app downloads and over 500,000 families playing every month. See the Sandbox Kids video.
“This is a digital-first world, and as kids’ access to devices and time spent online continues to grow, there is a need for age-appropriate, safe content. Under Nancy’s leadership, Sandbox Kids will transform how edutainment is delivered around the world and will super serve millennial families with content parents trust and kids love from Curious World, Hopster and Kidomi,” said Bhav Singh, Founder & CEO of Sandbox.
Sandbox Kids products can be localized for any market and are optimized for any device or platform. They support any go-to-market strategy for OEMs, mobile carriers, and OTT/pay TV companies so that brands can provide great content experiences that engage and entertain their family customers as demand for digital continues to grow. Sandbox Kids has content partnerships with more than 200 creators in more than 60 countries and commercial partnerships with Amazon, Comcast, T-Mobile, Verizon, TCL, Roku, Mondia Media, Vodafone and more.
“Sandbox Kids makes perfect sense for our business, partners and customers,” said MacIntyre. “By consolidating our brands and combining commercial synergies we aim to scale the company by building our global partnerships with Mobile Carriers, Pay TV Companies, OEMs and offering a broader suite of products and an expanded library with our original and acquired content. This is a hugely exciting time for the company, and we are actively looking for kids’ content and brands that can complement our growing portfolio.”
Fingerprint is the latest acquisition for Sandbox and the third in the last 6-months, following Teachit in Q4 and Code Kingdoms earlier this month. Since forming in 2015, Sandbox has acquired 13 award-winning digital learning products and has aggressive plans for continued growth. Learn more about Sandbox Kids.
About Fingerprint
Before being acquired by Sandbox, Fingerprint was a leading global provider of digital content for kids and families. The San Francisco-based mobile technology company created an innovative kids’ learning and entertainment platform with curated content. Fingerprint licensed its on-demand, multimedia, multiplatform ‘super app’ Kidomi™ to OEMs, mobile carriers, Pay TV companies and retailers worldwide to help them better connect with families in a safe and meaningful way. Fingerprint has content partnerships with more than 200 developers in more than 60 countries and commercial partnerships with industry leading brands across the globe. Fingerprint was funded by leading media and technology investors including Corus Entertainment, DreamWorks Animation, Reed Elsevier Ventures, Trinity Capital Investment and GSV. For more information, visit fingerprintplay.com, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
About Sandbox & Co
Sandbox is a London-based millennial education company with engaging online products and services that make learning fun. At the intersection of the digital, learning and media industries, Sandbox brands embrace technological advancements, focus on globally relevant core subjects that centre on families’ interests and help develop 21st century skills. Sandbox & Co represents and strategically operates the Sandbox-controlled and invested entities – a suite of 13 brands, most of which are leaders in their own segment and have won several awards. These brands are aligned to three vertices; Sandbox Gaming, Sandbox Kids and Sandbox Learning. Sandbox’s brands include CoolMathGames, Poptropica, Code Kingdoms, Tinybop, Curious World, Hopster, Kidomi, Family Education, TeacherVision, Teachit, Fact Monster, InfoPlease and Funbrain. Sandbox is committed to providing an unparalleled ecosystem of edutainment products, and currently reaches over 55 million children, their millennial parents and teachers. For more information, please refer to the Sandbox & Co. website at www.sandboxandco.com.
Press Materials: Sandbox Kids Press Site
Media contact: Eileen Tanner, SandboxKids_Media@zebrapartners.net
(* Calculated using global child population and Statista mobile penetration data)