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People profiles
Brent Bushnell


Entertainment engineering collective Two Bit Circus has been causing a real buzz in the US with its STEAM Carnival. And now that success has been recognised by a trio of venture capital firms, who are putting up $6.5m (€5.9m, £4.3m) in investment for the high-tech circus to expand and develop the concept.

“We’re thrilled to be bringing our crazy circus to a broader audience,” says Brent Bushnell, CEO of Two Bit Circus.

The Los Angeles, California-based company was founded in 2012 by Bushnell and Eric Gradman, who wanted to create a positive narrative around the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) subjects to “convert non-STEM kids into STEM kids”. The investment is coming from Techstars Ventures and Foundry Group, with additional funding from Intel Capital.

The funding will mainly be used to grow STEAM Carnival – a touring pop-up-style event that gets kids to engage with STEM topics plus art topics in a project-based, hands-on way – into a national brand.

The first STEAM Carnival took place in an LA warehouse in October 2014, and has gone from strength to strength. The next STEAM Carnival was planned for Pier 48 in San Francisco from 6 to 8 November.

“If LA was our prototype, San Francisco represents version 1.0 of the event,” Bushnell says. “We’ve had hundreds of requests for the event from all over the world, so the response has been awesome, with guests staying an average of five hours in LA. We’re excited to take it across the country and then scale it internationally.”

“With the investment we’re focusing on three core areas,” he says. “First, we’re scaling the carnival up across the US and building out the ecosystem around it, such as the YouTube channel. Second, we’re building on our work in 360-degree video capture for VR, and we’ll be creating original VR content. And third, we’re completing our other out-of-home game platforms – stay tuned for more!”

Two Bit Circus is also working on home solutions and a series of interactive solutions for other out-of-home venues.

Dunk Tank Flambe is Bushnell’s STEAM Carnival highlight.
Other activities include Wave Pendulum and Big Ball Alley
Other activities include Wave Pendulum and Big Ball Alley
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People profiles
Brent Bushnell


Entertainment engineering collective Two Bit Circus has been causing a real buzz in the US with its STEAM Carnival. And now that success has been recognised by a trio of venture capital firms, who are putting up $6.5m (€5.9m, £4.3m) in investment for the high-tech circus to expand and develop the concept.

“We’re thrilled to be bringing our crazy circus to a broader audience,” says Brent Bushnell, CEO of Two Bit Circus.

The Los Angeles, California-based company was founded in 2012 by Bushnell and Eric Gradman, who wanted to create a positive narrative around the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) subjects to “convert non-STEM kids into STEM kids”. The investment is coming from Techstars Ventures and Foundry Group, with additional funding from Intel Capital.

The funding will mainly be used to grow STEAM Carnival – a touring pop-up-style event that gets kids to engage with STEM topics plus art topics in a project-based, hands-on way – into a national brand.

The first STEAM Carnival took place in an LA warehouse in October 2014, and has gone from strength to strength. The next STEAM Carnival was planned for Pier 48 in San Francisco from 6 to 8 November.

“If LA was our prototype, San Francisco represents version 1.0 of the event,” Bushnell says. “We’ve had hundreds of requests for the event from all over the world, so the response has been awesome, with guests staying an average of five hours in LA. We’re excited to take it across the country and then scale it internationally.”

“With the investment we’re focusing on three core areas,” he says. “First, we’re scaling the carnival up across the US and building out the ecosystem around it, such as the YouTube channel. Second, we’re building on our work in 360-degree video capture for VR, and we’ll be creating original VR content. And third, we’re completing our other out-of-home game platforms – stay tuned for more!”

Two Bit Circus is also working on home solutions and a series of interactive solutions for other out-of-home venues.

Dunk Tank Flambe is Bushnell’s STEAM Carnival highlight.
Other activities include Wave Pendulum and Big Ball Alley
Other activities include Wave Pendulum and Big Ball Alley
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+ More news   
 
COMPANY PROFILES
iPlayCO

iPlayCo was established in 1999. [more...]
Clip 'n Climb

Clip ‘n Climb currently offers facility owners and investors more than 40 colourful and unique Cha [more...]
Sally Corporation

Our services include: Dark ride design & build; Redevelopment of existing attractions; High-quality [more...]
TechnoAlpin

TechnoAlpin is the world leader for snowmaking systems. Our product portfolio includes all different [more...]
+ More profiles  
CATALOGUE GALLERY
+ More catalogues  
DIRECTORY
+ More directory  
DIARY

 

08-08 May 2024

Hospitality Design Conference

Hotel Melià , Milano , Italy
10-12 May 2024

Asia Pool & Spa Expo

China Import & Export Fair Complex, Guangzhou, China
+ More diary  
 


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Tel: +44 (0)1462 431385

©Cybertrek 2024

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