UK-based new media investor Sandbox Partners (SBX) has taken a minority stake in educational kids app developer Tinybop.

The investment sees Sandbox become Tinybop’s biggest institutional shareholder, and gives the New York-based developer of award-winning apps like The Human Body and The Robot Factory access to SBX’s global reach of 20 million kids, parents and teachers.

SBX now sits on the company’s board and will expand its business and operations worldwide through strategic, commercial and operational support.

Launched in 2012 by CEO Raul Gutierrez, Tinybop has since released 13 apps, including 2015 iPad App of the Year The Robot Factory and new empathy-inspiring Me.

To date, Tinybop’s suite of apps have reached more than 600,000 US schools and have generated nearly 10 million downloads.

Tinybob joins educational kids SVOD app Hopster, digital marketing platform SuperAwesome, new kids entertainment company StoryArc Media and kids virtual world Poptropica as a company backed by three-year-old SBX.