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Meet the Teenpreneurs who just sold their first startup.

By on July 27, 2021

Two teen coders from Seattle, Sage Khanuja, 17, and Nikolas Ioannou, 18, noticed a lack of patient-centered technology. They then developed a telemedicine startup Spira for patients to be able to track their respiratory health and other healthcare needs on their mobile devices. The teens have recently sold the startup to a New York-based healthcare company for an undisclosed amount.

In a recent interview, they said they got their first introduction to computer science on Code.org, a non-profit organization encouraging schools to include more computer science classes in the curriculum.

Sage says he has been learning CS since he was in 3rd or 4th grade. “Much of the basics,” he adds, “like Scratch, were taught in school.”  Everything else he said were learned from online resources like YouTube and Code.org.

Nikolas said, “What I love most about programming is its ability to make an impact. With the click of a button, I can publish my products for anyone to benefit from across the globe.”
With young programmers like Sage and Nikolas looking to make a difference through their work, there is plenty to look forward to.

AI and machine learning are changing more of our daily lives, but AI is not yet covered in most K-12 computer science classrooms. “That means few students globally have been exposed to this fast-growing, critical field,” says Code.Org

Code.Org’s  brand new AI and Machine Learning Unit is now ready for millions of students and teachers around the globe.
A look at the AI Lab activity in the new unit.

Its CS Discoveries curriculum will include the brand new AI and Machine Learning Unit, which can also be taught as a standalone module for students in grades 6-12.

“With this new AI/ML unit, we can equip all students — particularly young women and students from underrepresented groups — to learn about the impact of these technologies and inspire them to harness the power of AI/ML to shape our world in the future,” says Hadi Partovi, Code.org founder.

After a pandemic that widened the digital divide, it is more important than ever that schools teach computer science as part of the “new normal.”

“As a new school year begins, we must redouble our efforts to close gaps in representation and ensure that every student in every school has the opportunity to learn computer science,” Hadi adds.

Help your children stay ahead of the game. Here’s why you should sign up now for Tokyo Coding Club’s Summer STEM program.

About Ted Tanaka