Osmo (game system)

Tangible Play (Parent Company)
FoundedAugust 31, 2014 (2014-08-31)
FounderPramod Sharma.
Headquarters
Palo Alto, California
,
United States
Key people
Neil D. Bloom.
Websitewww.playosmo.com

Osmo is a line of hands-on educational digital/physical games product by the company Tangible Play, based in Palo Alto, California. Osmo's products are built around its proprietary “Reflective Artificial Intelligence,” a system that uses a stand and a clip-on mirror to allow an iPad or iPhone's front-facing camera to recognize and track objects in the physical play space in front of the device.[1]

Awards

DateAwardCategoryRecipient(s) and nominee(s)Result
2014Time MagazineBest Inventions of the YearOsmoWon
2014Parents' Choice AwardsGold AwardOsmoWon
2015Oppenheim Toy PortfolioPlatinum AwardOsmoWon
2015Toy of the Year AwardsEducational Toy of the YearOsmoNominated
2016Parents' Choice AwardsGold AwardOsmoWon
2016Oppenheim Toy PortfolioGold Seal AwardOsmoWon
2017Toy of the Year AwardsEducational Toy of the YearOsmoNominated

Development

Osmo was developed by Tangible Play, a company founded in 2013 by Pramod Sharma and Jérôme Scholler ”two Stanford alums and ex-Googlers with kids.”[2] They were inspired by observing Sharma's daughter, then five years old, interact with an iPad. "She had her face glued to screen, which seems unhealthy and not natural," according to Sharma.[3] The partners created a game system that uses a mirror over the camera to turn the screen into “an interactive partner in physical games”[4]

Time named Osmo one of the 25 Best Inventions of 2014[5] and in 2017, Fast Company named Osmo one of the top ten “most innovative companies” in education.[6] Osmo games are available for sale online and in retail outlets such as Target and the Apple Store. Osmo was acquired by Byju's in January 2019 for $120 million.[7]

Studio bankruptcy

On January 25, 2024, lenders began bankruptcy proceedings against Osmo's parent company Byju's in an effort to repay its loans.[8] On February 1, 2024, Byju's U.S. division filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware. Byju's would raise around $200 million in an effort to clear "immediate liabilities" and for other operational costs.[9] In December 2025, Osmo was purchased out of bankruptcy by "small but passionate team" who has re-launched the core Osmo products on their website and Amazon[10].

Products

Words

Words is a game where players examine on-screen picture clues and then spell out words with tangible letter tiles.[11]

Tangram

In a modern version of the classic educational game, children arrange tangible tangram pieces to match shapes they see on the screen. Tangrams are good for developing spatial awareness skills.[12]

Newton

Newton is a physics-based game where players direct small bouncing balls into targeted areas by drawing platforms and ramps, or even by placing physical objects in the playing space.[13]

Numbers

Numbers is an ocean-themed math game, where players try to pop bubbles and free fish by getting an effective combination of number tiles on the table.[14]

Masterpiece

Masterpiece uses computer vision to analyze any image and translate it into a traceable image.[15]

Coding Awbie

Players learn about coding by placing magnetically linking coding blocks in sequences to control a character.[16]

Monster

Mo, the monster, takes kids real-life drawings and incorporates them into his animated world.[17]

Pizza Co.

Pizza Co. combines cooking and entrepreneur play with interactive tokens representing ingredients and money.[18]

Coding Jam

Coding Jam teaches coding concepts through the creative act of making music.[19]

Hot Wheels™ MindRacers

Osmo partnered with Mattel to create MindRacers, a game combining real Hot Wheels™ cars with virtual on-screen racetracks.[20]

References

  1. ↑ "iPhone Base brings Osmo's augmented reality games to the iPhone". Digital Trends. 2017-08-31. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
  2. ↑ "Ipad Educators". Ipad Educators. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
  3. ↑ "Osmo raises $12M to change how children use the iPad". VatorNews. 2014-10-16. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
  4. ↑ "2014 Holiday Gift Ideas and Guide — Movies, Music, Books, Clothes & More". The New York Times. 2014-10-14. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
  5. ↑ "These Are the 25 Best Inventions of 2014". Time. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
  6. ↑ "The 10 Most Innovative Companies In Education 2017". Fast Company. 2017-03-09. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
  7. ↑ "Byju's buys Osmo for $120M to add blended learning to its $4B digital education business". TechCrunch. 16 January 2019. Retrieved 2021-11-14.
  8. ↑ "Lenders begin bankruptcy proceedings against India's Byju's". Reuters. Reuters. 2024-01-25. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  9. ↑ "Indian edtech Byju's US unit files for bankruptcy in Delaware". Yahoo! Finance. Yahoo. 2024-02-01. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  10. ↑ "Former Employees Relaunch Osmo Educational Hardware". Let's Data Science. Let's Data Science. 2026-03-06. Retrieved 2026-05-13.
  11. ↑ "Playing Outside iPad's Screen with Osmo". Learning in Hand. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
  12. ↑ "Osmo Educational Gaming System for iPad Review". techagekids.com. 2016-11-23. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
  13. ↑ "Hands-on Review of 'Osmo Monster' and the Creative Set - GeekDad". GeekDad. 2016-11-03. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
  14. ↑ "Playing With Numbers: 'DragonBox' and 'Osmo' - GeekDad". GeekDad. 2015-12-02. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
  15. ↑ "Osmo Masterpiece could turn every kid into an iPad artist". venturebeat.com. 12 March 2015. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
  16. ↑ "Review: Osmo Coding makes learning coding skills fun for kids". newatlas.com. July 2016. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
  17. ↑ "Osmo's New iPad Game Puts Your Drawings in a Monster's Hands". WIRED. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
  18. ↑ "Osmo Teaches Entrepreneurship With iPads And Pizza". Forbes. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
  19. ↑ "Osmo Coding Jam game combines programming with music". venturebeat.com. 11 May 2017. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
  20. ↑ "Osmo and Mattel Introduce MindRacers - GeekDad". GeekDad. 2017-09-28. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
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