The deal, announced last week, will see KIRKBI acquire 100% ownership of BrainPOP, which was wholly owned by the 71-year-old Keder, who has never raised outside funds for his company. BrainPOP was founded in 1999 with the aim of “empowering children to shape the world around them and within them”. Today, it has a presence in over two-thirds of US school districts and an estimated reach of 25 million students per year, as well as an international presence, including in Israel.
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The company’s core products provide short animated films that aim to make complicated ideas simple, clear and thought-provoking, alongside learning activities to help educators and parents build children’s thinking and life skills. BrainPOP, which is based in the USA and has an R&D center in Israel, employs 300 people and operates on a subscription model. Keder ran the company until 2020, before stepping down and being replaced as CEO by Scott Kirkpatrick. BrainPOP will remain operationally independent, with Keder, who has lived in the US since the 1980s, remaining on BrainPOP’s board of directors and will be invited to serve as a senior advisor to the acquisition group in relation to -BrainPOP.