STEAM companies Sphero and littleBits are joining forces to expand their brands around the world.

Sphero becomes the largest player in the STEAM education market following the deal. Combined, the two companies have sold more than $500 million in retail products. Sphero, with the addition of the littleBits line, will now feature a portfolio of more than 140 patents in robotics, electronics, software and the Internet of Things.

With this deal, Sphero plans to accelerate international growth and acquire other products and companies to further expand its portfolio of STEAM products and tools. The company will have offices in Boulder, New York, and Hong Kong with Paul Berberian as chief executive officer. Ayah Bdeir will be moving on from littleBits following the announcement.

The deal follows a previous deal that saw Sphero take ownership of music tech startup Specdrums last year.