Technology entertainment company Zowie Entertainment Inc is to merge its operations into Knowledge Kids Enterprises Inc, as part of a multi-million investment deal between Knowledge Kids and Paul Allen’s Interval Research Corp think tank and Vulcan Ventures investment arm. Zowie will join two other smart toy companies, Leapfrog Toys and Explore Technologies, as independent divisions of Knowledge Kids, itself part of Knowledge Universe LLC, the giant global education holding company founded in 1996 by Oracle Corp’s Larry Ellison and former junk-bond king Michael Milken.
Zowie, based in San Mateo, California, was spun off from Interval in February 1998 under the name Mirvo Toys. It has patented a set of sensing and recognition technologies for use within toys such as Redbeard’s Pirate Quest and Ellie’s Enchanted Garden expected to debut later this year, combining on-screen play with off screen activities. The company says it hopes to define the new smart toy category, and says the merger will help it apply its technology to a wider range of PC and non-PC related products.
Another Interval spin-off, Purple Moon, which produces interactive games for girls, closed its doors recently when it ran out of money, only to be rescued by giant toy maker Mattel Inc. Financial details of the new deal were not disclosed. It is expected to be finalized within 60 days.
Knowledge Universe, a surprisingly low-profile company for its size, is run by president Tom Kalinske, former CEO of Sega of America and Mattel, and has built up a set of companies in the education, training and consultancy marketplaces. They include contract personnel and training firm CRT Group Plc (now renamed Spring Group Plc), consulting firm Nextera Enterprises LLC, technology learning firms Productivity Point International Inc and MindQ Publishing Inc, and education sector companies such as Knowledge Beginnings Inc (previously Childrens Discovery Centers), Teacher Universe Inc and Bookman Testing Services Inc. An online education venture, Knowledge University, was formed in 1997. Annual global revenues from companies that Knowledge Universe has significant investment or ownership positions in are in excess of $1 billion.
