10-year-old coder is already so successful she's caught the attention of Google

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By VT

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Most 10-year-olds out in the world today are fairly familiar with using technology, either through video games, or films and TV, or - in more recent years - social media.

But Samaira Mehta is different.

Not only does she know how to use the latest gadgets and gizmos, she also knows how to create them. A coder since the age of just six years old, Mehta has technological skills that easily surpass those of the average adult, and potentially match up to those who currently work in the coding industry.

In fact, Mehta is so good at what she does, she's already caught the attention of Google.

samaira mehta
Credit: 823

When she was eight years old, Mehta - who lives in Silicon Valley - founded a company called CoderBunnyz, which makes board games to teach other kids how to code. So successful was the game that Mehta won the $2,500 second-place prize from Think Tank Learning's Pitchfest in 2016, and she used her moment in the spotlight to talk about the importance of educating young people - especially girls - in coding.

"There is a gender gap in technology," Mehta said upon winning the prize. "Girls only represent one-fifth of all people in the STEM (Science Technology Engineering) field.

"Girls can bring more creativity to any projects including Software and Computer Science. So we need to bring more and more girls in technology. At the same time we need to get girls excited about coding at a very early stage. Especially so, for all those girls who do not have easy access to resources."

samaira mehta
Credit: 1976

Speaking to Business Insider, the young girl revealed the success of her board game.

"We've sold 1,000 boxes [of CoderBunnyz], so over $35,000, and it's only been on the market for one year," she said.

She also spoke about her initiative, 'Yes, 1 Billion Kids Can Code', which allows people to donate the CoderBunnyz game to schools. Mehta then hosts workshops at schools that have received the game in order to teach students how to code properly.

At the start of this academic year, 106 schools were using CoderBunnyz.

"In the world there are over 1 billion kids," she said. "There are people who are willing to donate CoderBunnyz boxes to schools and to people in need all over the world who want to learn coding."

Some of these workshops took place at Google, at which time Mehta was introduced to Stacy Sullivan, Google's chief culture officer.

"[Sullivan] told me I was doing great and once I get out of college, I can come work for Google," Mehta said.

At the moment, all the profits that Mehta makes from her game are being reinvested in the company to help it grow. When the business grows further, however, the 10-year-old knows what she wants to do with the money: donate it to a homeless charity named PATH.

"It ends homelessness and helps people rebuild skills and I care about the homeless," she said.

With a brilliant mind and a kind heart, then, it's clear that this kid is destined for a pretty bright future.