Social venture Dot to supply Braille tablets to US schools

South Korean social startup Dot has been picked as the sole supplier of Braille tablet PCs for visually impaired students in the US, the company said Thursday.

Through the exclusive contract with the US Department of Education, the Seoul-based startup will provide 30 billion won ($26.9 million) worth of Braille smart tablets, called Dot Pads, to the US schools for four years starting in 2022.

The digital devices enable teachers and students to depict shapes, charts and graphs in Braille while being able to display in real time what is drawn on a digital board in the classroom.

Since Braille textbooks are three to five times more voluminous than average textbooks, the tablet is expected to accelerate the digitalization of education as well as contribute to the recent environmental, social and governance movement, according to the startup.

“Starting with the latest contract with the US Department of Education, the company will scale up its business for visually impaired people in other regions, including Asia, the Middle East and Europe,” said Dot co-CEOs Kim Joo-yoon and Seong Ki-kwang in a statement.

The startup, which is well known for the world’s first Braille smartwatch, the Dot Watch, has so far raised 12.6 billion won and has some 120 technical patents. It plans to close its Series B funding round in July.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)