Former National Geographic president Tim Kelly has launched a Washington, D.C.-based educational technology startup, STEAM Engine Inc., and has $8 million in funding for it.
The equity funding was disclosed in an SEC filing last week, and came from a single investor. The filing doesn't say who the investor is.
STEAM Engine does not have a website, but Kelly is listed as CEO in the SEC filing, and as founder/CEO in a job posting from October on an executive headhunter site.
STEAM Engine "offers the entire planet as a living laboratory."
According to the posting, STEAM Engine is an edtech company in the process of developing a game-based social learning platform. STEAM Engine “offers the entire planet as a living laboratory,” according to the posting. "Empowering middle and high school students through a massive Earth simulator, STEAM Engine is augmented by an innovative array of Citizen Science missions in partnership with universities and NGOs from around the world.”
STEAM Engine plans to use adaptive learning technology, proprietary game mechanics and social media tools to find solutions to sustain a healthy biosphere. The company’s curriculum/content strategy will be focused on the academic K-12 market.
A promo video for STEAM Engine hosted in Dropbox, linked to from the job posting, suggests that efforts of the company will involve "imagineering the perfect planet."
Kelly spent three decades with National Geographic, ultimately becoming its president, before his departure in 2012. Among his achievements were overseeing the transition of National Geographic from print to TV, by creating and leading the growth of the National Geographic Channel. *We've reached out to Mr. Kelly and will update the story if we hear back
