Erase All Kittens is for young players, especially girls, to learn how to code

After reaching 160,000 players in more than 100 countries, the company has raised a $1 million round led by Twinkl Educational Publishing, with participation from first investor Christian Reyntjens of A Black Square family office, including one of the founders of Shazam.

The funding will be used to develop a more gamified version of Erase All Kittens (EAK) teaching HTML, CSS and Javascript – the languages of all websites and web apps – to kids aged 8-12. It will be launched in July and sold to parents and schools worldwide.

EAK’s research shows that 55% of its players are girls and 95% want to learn more about coding after playing. The existing game is currently free and is being used in over 3,000 schools, with traction having increased by 500% since March 2020.

“We’re designing a coding game that girls genuinely love – one that places a huge emphasis on creativity”, said Dee Saigal, co-founder, CEO and Creative Director.

The female-founded team believe that code education tools for children naturally appeal more to boys because the vast majority have been built by men – with many teaching coding in a similar and instructional way.

They carried out two years of R&D resulting in a game that teaches girls and boys as young as eight years olds transferable digital skills, allowing them to create on the web.

“Girls can see instant results as they code, there are different ways to progress through the game, and learning is seamlessly blended with storytelling,” concludes Saigal.

Another day, another report and another scathing censure for the security of the IT hardware industry.

According to a survey  of IT Directors carried out by DSA connect, an IT asset disposal company reveals that 8% have taken a hammer to dispose of IT equipment containing electronic data.   

Moreover, some 12% admit to having submerged it in water to try and destroy the hardware and 18% have used drilling to do this.  The most popular method is shredding (90% of IT Directors have used this), followed by data sanitation software (74%).

DSA Connect’s research suggests that one of the reasons for IT Directors to sometimes take such drastic steps is that 82% said they are concerned about the security issues around the disposal of IT hardware.  

Alarmingly, 10% of IT Directors interviewed described their employer’s knowledge of data erasure and disposal or IT hardware as average or poor.  Some 12% who have carried out data erasure on equipment as part of their jobs, did not receive a certificate of proof for the work done.   

When it comes to their employers disposing of IT tech and hardware, 82% of IT Directors say there is a growing focus on CSR issues, and 24% expect the focus here to increase dramatically over the next three year.  Over half (56%) expect a slight increase in focus here. 

“Our findings shows a real concern amongst IT Directors about the disposal of IT hardware and data.  They are right to be worried because if they get this wrong they could face a huge fine and damage to their reputation,” said Harry Benham, Chairman of DSA Connect.

There are also a number of companies claiming to be professionals in erasing data and IT destruction, but they are not, and they can leave their clients exposed and liable for the mistakes they make.”

Many businesses often find themselves with redundant IT and telecoms equipment. This could be due to periodic equipment refreshes, downsizing or office relocations and closures.

Recovering redundant equipment from across the UK, DSA Connect provides a secure IT asset disposal service utilising a methodology created in partnership with the Ministry of Defence.

DSA Connect’s end of life service allows for the complete removal and data eradication of IT equipment and, depending on the quantity and type of equipment for disposal, DSA Connect offers a rebate of up to 60% on all re-saleable assets. 

^* DSA Connect commissioned the market research company Pure Profile to interview 50 IT Directors in October 2020.