A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting start-ups globally
RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – ED TECH
- VIPKID nabs $100M to link Chinese kids with native speakers to learn English. Link
- Israeli EdTech co SlateScience raises $45m. Link
- Codecademy Raises $30 Million to Expand Coding Education Across the Globe. Link
- Wonder Workshop announces Series B funding and global expansion. Link
- PostBeyond Raises $4M to Accelerate Global Expansion of its Employee Advocacy Solution. Link
- Schoox, an LMS provider receives $2.52M in Series a funding. Link
- Cattle off network eligible for 10 million yuan Pre-A round of financing. Link
- UpWest Labs leads $2 million round for the Uber of TED talks, a startup betting millennials crave more growth. Link
- Vested Finance Inc – trading under the brand ‘Schoold’ – has successfully raised additional funding of $1.5M in a series seed-2. Link
- SRI Capital invests $1.3 million in SaaS startups Yellowdig & Zuppler. Link
- Crimson Ventures Takes Minority Position in E-Learning Company Thrivist. Link
- Digital future leads $675K investment round in Rallyware. Link
- Education technology firm raises €500,000 to expand overseas. Link
- The Colibri Group Announces Investment in Securities Training Corporation. Link
- Riverside Does Its Homework, Finds Great Partner In n2y. Link
- #Africa Egypt’s CairoSitters raises funding to rebrand, pivot. Link
- Weidong cloud education eligible CCBI A round of financing, the most recent valuation of 4 billion yuan. Link
- Pluralsight’s Eighth Acquisition in 3 Years, Train Simple, Focuses on Adobe Software. Link
- NewSchools Opens $7M in Funding to Strengthen ELL Tools, Pipeline for Leaders of Color. Link
- Google Ventures Partner, Rich Miner, to Lead Stealth Education Project. Link
SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND
Masterclass (2015, SF) – Online courses for students of all skill levels by renowned experts.
Thinkific (2015,Vancouver) – An Online academy builder that allows people and compnies to conduct online courses.
Cybrary (2015, Greenbelt) – Self-paced and online cyber security training platform.
LEADER BOARD – ED TECH
Technology
Blackboard (1997, Washington D.C., IPO, Acq.) – Learning management system for educators, corporates and public sectors. Went public in 2004. Acquired by Providence Equity Partners in 2011 for $1.64B.
2U (2008, Annapolis, IPO) – Virtual classroom platform provider for colleges and universities. Went public in 2014.
Instructure (2008, Salt Lake City, IPO) – Cloud-based learning management system for K-12 schools, universities and corporates. Went public in 2015.
HotChalk (2004, Campbell, $235M) – Virtual classroom platform for universities. Backed by Bertelsmann and Peacock Equity.
Brightspace (1999, Kitchener, $165M) – Cloud-based integrated learning platform for educational institutes and corporates. Backed by OMERS Ventures, New Enterprise Associates, Columbus Nova Technology Partners, Four Rivers Group, Graham Holdings and Aurion Capital.
Knewton (2008, NYC, $157M) – Adaptive learning platform and API provider. Backed by Accel Partners, First Round Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, FirstMark Capital, Founders Fund, Atomico, GSV Capital and Pearson Education.
Online Courses
Lynda (1995, Carpinteria, $289M, Acq.) – Online video courses in software, creative and business skills. Backed by Accel Partners, Spectrum Equity, Meritech Capital Partners and TPG Capital. Acquired by LinkedIn in 2015 for $1.5B.
Hujiang (2001, Shanghai, $257M) – Language learning platform focussed on China. Backed by Baidu, Anhui new media, Marseille Fund, Softbank China, Pantheon Ventures and Hina.
Udemy (2010, SF, $173M) – Marketplace for online courses. Backed by 500 startups, MHS capital, Light Bank, Learn Capital, Insight Partners, New Venture Partnes, Stripes Group and Naspers.
General Assembly (2011, NYC, $173M) – Online and offline courses in technology, business and design streams. Backed by Advance Publications, Wellington Capital Management, IVP, Learn Capital, Maveron, Rethink Education and GSV Capital.
Pluralsight (2004, Cedar Valley, $162.5M) – Online video courses in programming and creative learning. Backed by Insight Venture Partners, Iconiq Capital, Felicis Ventures and Sorenson Capital.
Udacity (2011, Mountain View, $16Udacity0M) – MOOCs and Nanodegree provider, mainly focussing on coding education. Backed by Bertelsmann, Baillie Gifford, Emerson Collective, Google Ventures, a16z, Drive Capital and Charles River Ventures.
Coursera (2012, Mountain View, $146M) – MOOCs from top universities. Backed by EDBI, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, GSV Asset Management, GSV Capital, Laureate Education, International Finance Corporation, Learn Capital, Times Internet and Yuri Milner.
Online Tutoring
TutorGroup (2004, Taiwan, $315M) – Online tutoring platform for learning English. Backed by Alibaba, Qiming Ventures, Temasek, Goldman Sachs, GIC, Russia-China Investment Fund, Silverlink Capital and Softbank Finance Group
Chegg (2005, California, $197M) – Online tutoring and textbook rental company. Backed by Floodgate, Primera Capital, Insight Partners, KPCB, Foundation Capital, Lucasvg, Acegroup, Gabrielvp and GSV cap.
Open English (2006, Florida, $118M) – Online tutoring platform for learning English. Backed by Flybridge Capital Partners, Kaszek Ventures, Insight Partners, Redpoint Ventures and Technology Crossover Ventures.
Varsity Tutors (2007, St.Louis, $57M) – Online platform connecting students with tutors for in-person and online sessions. Backed by Technology Crossover Ventures.
Collaborative Learning
Cricket Media (1996, Herndon, IPO) – Collaborative learning platform for K-12 students and teachers. Went public in 2010.
ePals (1996, Herndon, $56M) – Project based social learning platform for K-12 educators. Backed by National Geographic and according to SEC filings, raised the latest funding from 100+ investors.
Wangluotianxia (2012, Beijing, $40M) – Online content sharing platform for study assistance. Backed by Groupon.
Edutainment
Age of Learning (2007, LA, $150M) – Provides gamified content through ABCmouse platform for kids. Backed by Iconiq Capital.
Duolingo (2011, Pittsburg, $83M) – Adaptive language learning platform that uses crowdsourced text translation. Backed by Google Capital, KPCB, New Enterprise Associates and Union Square Ventures.
Sphero (2010, Colorado, $77M) – Smartphone controlled robotic toys for interactive device based learning. Backed by Mercato Partners, Foundry Group, Walt Disney Company, Highway 12 Ventures and Grishin Robotics.
Lumosity (2005, SF, $67.5M) – Personalized brain training application that trains users’ memory, attention, flexibility, speed of processing and problem solving. Backed by Menlo Ventures, Northwest venture Partners, FirstMark Capital and Harrison Metal.
littleBits (2011, NYC, $60M) – Open source library of modular electronics for prototyping and learning. Backed by Morgan Stanley, DFJ, Grishin Robotics, Wamda, Foundry Group, True Ventures, Vegas Tech Fund, Two Sigma Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Mena Venture, Neo Teny Labs, Oatv and Lerer Ventures.
Dreambox Learning (2006, Bellevue, $58M, Acq.) – Adaptive learning K-12 software to teach Mathematical concepts to kids. Acquired by Charter Growth Fund and Reed Hastings, CEO, Netflix in 2010.
Test Preparation
Zhan (2010, Shanghai, $113M) – Online courses for students applying to overseas universities. Backed by Shunwei, GGVC, MCM China, Baifund, VKC Partners and Sequoia Capital.
Yuantiku (2013, Beijing, $84.2M) – Practice questions for K-12 students. Backed by IDGVC, Matrix Partners, NH Fund and JWYC.
Grockit (2006, NYC, $45M, Acq.) – Online social and adaptive learning test preparation platform for GMAT, GRE, LSAT, SAT and ACT exams. Backed by Benchmark, Discovery Communications, Atlas Venture, Integral Capital Partners and GSV Capital. Acquired by Kaplan in 2013.
Educational Resources
Teachers Pay Teachers (2006, NYC, $64M) – Online marketplace for K-12 teaching content. Backed by Spectrum Equity, TigerGlobal and True Ventures.
Education (2007, California, $30M) – Offers curriculum based activities, worksheets, games, and coloring pages sorted by grade level. Backed by Azure Capital, CT Ventures and Telesoft Venture.
Professional Learning
Tedu (2002, Beijing, IPO) – Job-oriented live distance education, classroom-based tutoring and online learning courses for IT professional training. Went public in 2014.
Teachscape (1999, SF, $32M) – Online professional development courses. Backed by ABS Capital Partners.
Fullbridge (2010, Boston, $29.5M) – Provides online and in-person professional training programs to students. Backed by Tomorrow Ventures and GSV capital.
Virtual School
Altschool (2013, SF, $137M) – Chain of micro-schools in USA. Backed by Founders Fund, A16Z, Emerson Collective, First Round, Learn Capital, Harrison Metal, Omidyar, Matrix Partners and Baseline Ventures.
Capella Education (1991, Minneapolis, $97.5M) – Provides online degree programs for professionals. Backed by Insight partners, Maveron and Technology Crossover Ventures.
Minerva Project (2012, SF, $95M) – Undergraduate program based on seminars and on ground learning. Backed by Benchmark, 100total, Zhen Fund and Yongjin.
University Now (2010, SF, $42.5M) – Online accredited programs under the name of Patten University. Backed by First analysis, U Venture fund, Novak Biddle, Kapor Capital, Bertelsmann and Greylock Ventures.
Admissions
Parchment (2003, Arizona, $69M) – Credential verification and online sharing platform for transcripts. Backed by Novak Biddle, Salmon River Capital, Raine and GSV Capital.
ConnectEDU (2002, Boston, $25M, Acq.) – Web-based college admission and career counseling platform. Acquired by Graduation Alliance in 2014.
Discovery
Juesheng (2012, Beijing, $31M) – Recommendation engine for education planning, study tour, training on examinations and more for Chinese students. Backed by Tarena, T-angel, XDF, Linear, China Equity and ZJ Capital.
SavvySource (2005, SF, $28M) – Provides preschool ratings and preschool reviews, parenting advice, activities and events for kids.
The Noodle Companies (2010, NYC, $28M) – Online discovery engine for degree programs, tutors and educational resources. According to SEC filings, is backed by 15+ investors.
Leaderboard includes all the top funded, IPO and successfully running bootstrapped companies along with their location, founding year and funding amount.
For latest update, visit EdTech feed.