Rosebud AI, an American platform for creating 2D and 3D games using generative artificial intelligence, backed by key names in the global technology industry, including OpenAI co-founders Andrej Karpathy and Ilya Sutskever, announced on Wednesday, in a statement cited by StartupCafe.ro, that it is launching the Rosebud Education Initiative in Romania.
The company states that its program offers teachers, schools, libraries, and educational organizations access to dedicated digital resources, „which allows children to create games using AI, without needing programming knowledge and without expensive equipment.”.
The initiative comes at a time when, according to the American startup, „technology use among children in Romania is high, but predominantly consumption-oriented.”.
„We often hear that children play too much, but almost never that they create too much. Rosebud proposes a change in perspective: transforming screen time into an active and creative learning experience that develops essential skills such as problem-solving and the ability to transform ideas into functional systems, and stimulates thinking,” said Andreea Bucescu, Head of Marketing Rosebud AI.
From consumption to creation: a real opportunity for digital education in Romania
According to Eurostat data, access to technology is no longer Romania's main challenge: in 2024, 94.57% of households had an internet connection. In parallel, a study by Google Romania shows that the average age at which children receive their first smartphone has dropped to approximately 8 years.
However, digital behavior is dominated by entertainment. Industry data from Statista indicates that approximately 7.9 million Romanians play video games at least once a month, and a 2025 study on Romanian adolescents shows that 34% of them play daily, often for several hours. While Romanian students frequently use technology for educational purposes as well, the results are mixed. According to the OECD (PISA), 57% of 15-year-old students use digital tools at school for at least one hour a day, above the OECD average. Nevertheless, levels of confidence and digital skills remain uneven, indicating that usage does not automatically translate into proficiency.
At the European level, AI adoption is already accelerating. According to the latest EU Kids Online study (2026), approximately 7 out of 10 children aged between 9 and 16 are using generative artificial intelligence tools. However, Romania still lacks consolidated national data regarding the integration of these technologies in education.
In this context, the challenge is no longer just about access, but about how technology is integrated into the learning process and the skills students develop through its use.
Using Rosebud AI's resources, students can build a complete game in a single activity
Rosebud says it offers students an AI engine that turns ideas into functional games, removing traditional technical barriers. „Without writing code and without technical training, children can create games starting from simple descriptions,” the company claims.
Naturally, the process contributes to the development of skills, „from understanding logic and cause-and-effect relationships to the ability to test, adjust, and refine ideas,” according to the cited source. At the same time, „children learn to structure and express complex concepts, transforming imagination into game mechanics, characters, and scenarios.”.
„The risks of using artificial intelligence on a child's brain are frequently discussed, but its impact depends on how we choose to use it. In a country with proven technical potential, like Romania, early exposure to appropriate tools can accelerate the development of relevant future skills. We offer children a concrete way to move from usage to construction,” added Andreea Bucescu.
Hackathons and educational workshops organized in the USA
Rosebud says that this Concept has already been tested during hackathons and educational workshops organized in the USA.
„In such an event, over 20 families, with children aged between 7 and 15, created complete games in less than two hours, starting from simple ideas and without prior experience,” the company states.
The company also states that when children built games with animated characters, fantastic worlds, or mechanics inspired by their own imagination, they intuitively learned basic concepts of technology and design. The entire process was perceived as play, not formal learning, which indicates a high potential for integration into early education.
A program adapted for schools and teachers in Romania
Through the Rosebud Education Initiative, the company states that educators can access a „comprehensive toolkit designed for rapid implementation, without additional resources or complex infrastructure.”.
The resource set includes „platform access through pro bono subscriptions,” according to the press release.
Teachers can request the use of Indie Dev subscriptions, with a minimum value of $15/student/month, or higher tiers, depending on their needs. The program also includes a complete package for organizing hackathons, with curriculum, certificates, posters, and prizes, as well as a collection of one-hour lessons for introducing AI game development in the classroom, tested internationally.
„Real progress begins in the classroom. Teachers are the ones who can transform technology into a relevant learning tool, and our role is to provide them with the resources that make this easy to implement, without putting additional pressure on them,” added Andreea Bucescu.
The program is open to teachers, schools, libraries, and educational organizations.