After lengthy study of the effects of technology on kids’ development, Sesame Workshop is now looking to invest directly in it.

The nonprofit organization behind Sesame Street has just launched Sesame Ventures, a new initiative aimed to support emerging companies in the areas of tech and mobile.

For more than four decades, Sesame has ushered in new ways of entertaining and educating kids. The company says it intends to uphold that mission through partnering with companies that promote the education, health and social welfare of children.

In initially making this happen, the Workshop has teamed up with VC firm Collaborative Fund, which has investments in companies such as AltSchool, a collaborative community of micro-schools that offers personalized learning for kids.

The Collab + Sesame Fund will focus on ventures in child development, particularly in the areas of education technology, health and nutrition, and social, cultural and family development. And the fund will assist companies through strategic guidance, operational support and by leveraging their extensive networks. All Sesame Ventures portfolio companies will have access to Sesame Workshop’s staff, research and decades of childhood development experience and expertise.

While Sesame Workshop has been actively developing – and collaborating on – platforms aimed at this generation of tech-savvy kids, Sesame Ventures marks a new foray into startup funding.