We create tools that educators and mentors will use to shape the learners of today into the problem solving leaders of tomorrow.
We envision a world where every student has the opportunity to be inspired by the excitement of hands-on STEM learning and knows the feeling of creating something with technology. We want people of all ages and backgrounds to recognize that creative problem solving is fun and see its importance in shaping a better future.
We're toolmakers. Solution providers. Problem solvers.
All we’re trying to do is make really cool stuff, which other people can use to inspire today’s students. We're not changing the world; we just work with a lot of people who are changing it.
The world currently faces an unprecedented need for new innovators, thinkers, and problem solving leaders. We already need double the number of qualified workers if we want to fill open STEM positions. And that gap will only increase. Industry leaders, governments, educators, and parents are all searching for solutions that will enable them to get all students excited.
Our real success comes from the world-changers who use our solutions to do amazing things. Students, parents, educators, school districts, and especially partner organizations are all using VEX to have a genuine impact in educational and competition environments.
Countries
Schools
Competition Teams
Students
The preferred platform for many of the world's largest robotics competitions
Nothing gets people “fired up” like the excitement of head-to-head competition. The solutions we create at VEX are used in a number of competition programs inspiring students with this magic, including BEST, FIRST, SkillsUSA, TSA and more. Most notably, VEX Robotics partners with the Robotics Education & Competition (REC) Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing student interest and involvement in STEM programs. The REC Foundation manages the VEX IQ Challenge (for elementary and middle-school students), the VEX Robotics Competition (for middle-school and high-school students) and VEX U (for University students). This continuum of programs enables students of all ages to use VEX to compete against their peers around the world.
Do you have what it takes to create the next World Champion?
The tools VEX provides for competition are designed with flexibility in mind. We see competitions popping up in all sorts of ways: informal club events, as part of the curricular classroom experience, or as part of summer programs. While many programs enjoy the ability to structure things in their own way, every program has the opportunity to work with the REC Foundation as part of a global competition. Interested students can compete locally before advancing to the regional, state, and national level. Winning teams from each region go on to compete at the VEX Robotics World Championship against the best teams in the world! The VEX Robotics World Championship now holds the Guinness World Record for the largest robotics competition on Earth. Over 20,000 participants from 1,100 teams representing 30 nations travelled to Louisville, KY in 2018 for the chance to be crowned world champion!
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Do you have what it takes to create the next World Champion?
The tools VEX provides for competition are designed with flexibility in mind. We see competitions popping up in all sorts of ways: informal club events, as part of the curricular classroom experience, or as part of summer programs. While many programs enjoy the ability to structure things in their own way, every program has the opportunity to work with the REC Foundation as part of a global competition. Interested students can compete locally before advancing to the regional, state, and national level. Winning teams from each region go on to compete at the VEX Robotics World Championship against the best teams in the world! The VEX Robotics World Championship now holds the Guinness World Record for the largest robotics competition on Earth. Over 20,000 participants from 1,100 teams representing 30 nations travelled to Louisville, KY in 2018 for the chance to be crowned world champion!
Free, standards-based curriculum for every classroom
The true impact of VEX is that we’re not only thriving as part of extra-curricular programs, but we’re also embraced as a leading part of the daytime classroom experience. We know every teacher has their own specific needs, and we want to provide tools for all of them. VEX provides access to free curriculum matched to leading educational standards so that teachers are able to build their lessons around key educational outcomes. Teachers everywhere can adapt VEX into their classroom or after school activities by using some or all of these free curriculum offerings.
Top-tier educational partners for educators who want more depth in their courses
Project Lead the Way (PLTW) is a leading provider of K-12 STEM programs. PLTW partners with elementary schools, middle schools and high schools to provide rigorous, relevant STEM education. Through activity-based, project-based, and problem-based curriculum, PLTW gives students in kindergarten through high school a chance to apply what they know, identify problems, find unique solutions, and lead their own learning. For educators, PLTW's engaging, rigorous professional development model provides tools to empower students and transform the classroom into a collaboration space where content comes to life. VEX products are incorporated at all levels of PLTW's programs and VEX is proud to be their exclusive robotics platform partner.
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Robomatter is a global leader in STEM education, striving to prepare students to compete in the emerging economy. Partnered with the CMU Robotics Academy, they provide research-driven rigorous curricula designed to teach 21st century career skills. Robomatter emphasizes technology tools as a means for student engagement, creating virtual learning tools and an education driven software suite to program VEX robots and enhance the VEX Robotics educational experience.
Robomatter has developed an entire line of engineering curricula built around VEX Robotics. Whether an educator is looking to outfit a single classroom or a full continuum of courses, Robomatter can find the perfect solution using VEX Robotics.
How two engineers in a garage laid the foundation for future problem solvers around the world.
As with many startup companies, the story of VEX Robotics is that of its visionary founders.
Tony Norman, an Electrical Engineer, and Bob Mimlitch, a Mechanical Engineer, met early in their careers. While mentoring students on a local high school robotics team, Tony and Bob discovered they both had the same beliefs about "the right way to do things" during the problem solving process.
To this day, Bob and Tony believe in the power of challenging convention.
They don't believe that "we’ve always done it this way" or "this is how everyone does it" is ever a justification for a solution. They value creative approaches to problem solving; not just in engineering design but in all aspects of business. They are often able to find simple and elegant solutions by focusing on creativity early in the design process. They love "quick and dirty" prototypes which help re-frame problems, and believe in the methodical and iterative nature of the engineering design process. Most of all, both of our founders believe in the power of hard-work, and that above all else, passion will drive quality and bring success.
Their passion quickly evolved into a global movement..
Like many other creative high-tech companies, Innovation First (IFI) originally started in a garage. Specifically, our company was born out of Tony’s garage in Greenville, TX (about 40 miles east of Dallas). From this humble beginning we quickly grew to include three distinct divisions, over 300 employees and nine offices worldwide. Tony and Bob continue to be passionate about STEM mentorship and founded the VEX Robotics division to carry forward their local efforts on a global scale. VEX lives on as IFI's largest subsidiary.
Tony and Bob remain actively involved with the company they founded.
We rely on their visionary leadership as VEX continues to expand. Each actively works to cultivate and safeguard the unique culture that makes us who we are. VEX’s impact would not be possible without their continued guidance.
More than a set of principles or a list of aspirations; these values define our company's personality.
Core Values
Driven by our founders, these values make up the core of our culture. They are at the heart of everything we do and every decision we make.
We believe everyone should push for the right solution, not settle for the easy solution. We emphasize creativity early in the problem solving process to challenge conventional knowledge and find exceptional solutions.
Continuous improvement is a way of life here. Quick and dirty prototypes are crucial for a great design. More iteration and improvement cycles result in a better solution. We celebrate failures as opportunities for learning.
We like it when things do what they're supposed to do. We like the fact that VEX products "just work." We want the VEX name to be a promise which says, "this is something great" and exceeds expectations, every time.
Evolved Values
As our company has grown, we've recognized what makes us who we are. Many of these are natural off-shoots of our core values.
We're a company of change makers who take initiative. Our employees push to achieve our company's mission and strive for greatness, providing exceptional moments along the way.
We know that diverse perspectives are critical for creative problem solving. Our team is built to work cohesively, valuing iteration and celebrating failures as opportunities for learning.
Simple and flexible enough for any educational need, and powerful enough for our customers' requirements. We aim to deliver beautifully engineered experiences at the right value.
We do everything we can to make sure our customers have a great experience with our brand. If we make a mistake, we take responsibility to correct it immediately. This is our promise.
We value employees that can do more with less and take the scrappy approach to success. We appreciate adversity and in the face of uncertain challenges, we still get the job done.
Many of our employees directly support competitive robotics programs in their free time through mentorship and volunteerism. We view our work as more than a job - it's a calling.
