Education Tech
Blockchain/AI/IoT | February 20, 2024
These VCs are betting on AI to upskill workers and expand pathways to good jobs
The advent of generative artificial intelligence isn’t all doom and gloom for employees. Played right, AI could open pathways to higher-skilled jobs for …
an AI generated image of a tsunami by Canva
Blockchain/AI/IoT | February 20, 2024
Notes on AI and education for impact investors and social entrepreneurs
What is a tsunami? Imagine a cubic meter of seawater. Imagine the weight of it. It weighs more than you probably think it …
Education Tech | January 11, 2024
Parallel Learning scores $20 million to provide teletherapy to students with special needs
ImpactAlpha, January 11— New York-based Parallel Learning partners with psychologists, speech-language pathologists, clinical social workers and special education teachers to serve more than …
Impact Muni Bonds | May 11, 2023
Santa Clara’s $47 million ed-tech bond to fund STEM tools in diverse school district
Editor’s note: ImpactAlpha has partnered with HIP Investor to highlight upcoming bond issues with social and/or environmental significance. Disclaimer: Nothing in this post or on …
Education Tech | May 11, 2023
BeeReaders raises $3.5 million to close the literacy gap for Spanish-speaking students
ImpactAlpha, May 11 — Austin-based edtech venture BeeReaders provides customized and culturally-relevant Spanish reading and writing content to 500 schools and 250,000 K-12 …
Photo by MPOWER.
Dealflow | May 9, 2023
MPOWER secures $150 million debt investment from Goldman Sachs for higher-education financing
ImpactAlpha, May 9 — Washington, D.C.-based MPOWER provides loans that don’t require a cosigner or collateral to international students and “DREAMers” to attend …
Education Tech | May 9, 2023
Generative AI opportunities and risks for impact investing in education
OpenAI’s chatbot ChatGPT took just two months to reach 100 million users. As impact investors, we’re excited about how generative AI might contribute …
Photo credit: Quotanda
Dealflow | March 6, 2023
IDB Lab backs Quotanda to finance digital upskilling for women and youth in Mexico
ImpactAlpha, March 6 – About one-quarter of Mexico’s population attains a university degree. To improve livelihoods and earning potential for the rest, Quotanda …
Signals | February 6, 2023
Four ways impact investors are supporting economic mobility for Black Americans
ImpactAlpha, February 6 — The median Black household in the U.S. has one-tenth the wealth of the median white household. Over the next …
Photo by Goodwell Investments.
Dealflow | November 23, 2022
Goodwell Investments raises €50 million to drive inclusive growth in Africa
ImpactAlpha, November 23 — Dutch impact investor Goodwell Investments is looking to raise €150 million for its second uMunthu fund to invest in …
Photo by Acelero.
Education Tech | October 18, 2022
BlackRock Impact Opportunities Fund and Builders Fund back early childhood learning platform Acelero
ImpactAlpha, October 18 — New York-based Acelero launched in 2001 to work with local communities to improve early childhood education outcomes for low-income …
Impact Voices | August 31, 2022
Education financiers aim to flip the odds in favor of students in the Global South
As our children head back to school this Fall, there are still hundreds of millions of students in low- and middle-income countries suffering …
Photo by Chancen International.
Inclusive Economy | June 23, 2022
Ceniarth backs Future of Work Fund for income share agreement financing in Rwanda
ImpactAlpha, June 23 — Income share agreements, or ISAs, allow students to pay for school with little to no upfront tuition in exchange …
Scaler Academy founders | Photo credit: Scaler Academy.
Good Jobs | February 2, 2022
Scaler Academy secures $55 million to upskill Indian tech workers
ImpactAlpha, February 2 — Only about 1% of India’s graduating software engineering students find meaningful employment. This “has opened up opportunities for avowed …
Photo credit: Diane Bondareff.
Education Tech | January 4, 2022
TPG Rise sells its stake in EverFi to Blackbaud
ImpactAlpha, January 4 — EverFi, which sells subscription packages to schools and companies for training on sexual assault and harassment prevention, social and …
Photo credit: Slang.
Dealflow | January 4, 2022
Slang secures $14 million to upskill English-language skills for Latam workers
ImpactAlpha, January 4 — In Latin America and elsewhere, proficient English speakers are more likely to secure a job. Boston, Mass.-based Slang provides …
Photo credit: Getty Images.
Dealflow | November 9, 2021
Evergreen Coast takes a majority stake in edtech startup DreamBox
ImpactAlpha, November 9 — Bellevue, Wash.-based DreamBox, launched in 2006, provides personalized math and reading content to approximately six million K-12 students and …
Photo credit: Yunus Social Business.
Dealflow | November 2, 2021
Virohan raises $1.3 million to build India’s allied health workforce
ImpactAlpha, November 2 — India needs at least 50 million health care professionals. Of the 10 million health workers today, around 90% are …
Vedantu's founders. Photo credit: Vedantu.
Dealflow | October 4, 2021
Vedantu rakes in another $100 million in India’s sizzling edtech market
ImpactAlpha, October 4 — Bengaluru-based Vedantu, whose mission is to make after-school tutoring widely available and affordable through online lessons, will use the …
Dealflow | September 7, 2021
Microverse secures investment to expand income share agreements for global talent
ImpactAlpha, September 7 — The Latin-led edtech, which is looking to connect at least one million young software developers from emerging markets to …
Dealflow | August 9, 2021
India’s Skill-Lync raises $17.5 million to teach tech skills online
ImpactAlpha, August 9 – Chennai-based edtech venture Skill-Lync offers online engineering courses and certificates to address a global tech skills gap. “Engineering education …
Photo credit: Class Technologies.
Dealflow | July 29, 2021
Class Technologies bags $105 million to improve virtual learning on Zoom
ImpactAlpha, July 29 — COVID-19 accelerated demand for educational technology to respond to social distancing and school closures. Class is taking Zoom up …
Photo credit: uPlanner
Dealflow | July 14, 2021
Acumen’s ALIVE backs Chilean edtech company uPlanner
ImpactAlpha, July 14 – Santiago-based uPlanner built its software to help Latin American universities improve operational efficiency and reduce student attrition. The artificial …
Photo credit: VAN LY.
Dealflow | June 8, 2021
KKR Global Impact backs EQuest Education’s low-cost schools in Vietnam
ImpactAlpha, June 8 — KKR Global Impact, the impact arm of private equity giant KKR, has invested an undisclosed amount in Ho Chi …
Investing in Health | June 7, 2021
Aunt Bertha raises $27 million to connect users to social services
ImpactAlpha, June 7 – Aunt Bertha’s findhelp.org platform has grown to more than 470,000 programs and six million users. “Providing access to the …
Photo credit: Guild Education.
Dealflow | June 3, 2021
Guild Education secures $150 million to upskill frontline workers
ImpactAlpha, June 3 — Denver-based Guild Education has raised $150 million in a Series E round backed by Bessemer Venture Partners, Cowboy Ventures, …
CIM's Jacob Harr | Photo credit: Access Ventures.
Signals | May 17, 2021
Accountability for outcomes can spur impact investments in educational income share agreements
ImpactAlpha, May 17 — Investing in higher education and workforce development for minorities and underserved communities, through financing structures like income share agreements, …
Photo credit: Algramo
Catalytic Capital | May 6, 2021
MIT’s Solve Innovation Future fund makes four early-stage investments
ImpactAlpha, May 6 – Solve Innovation Future, the investment arm of MIT Solve, has committed $1 million to eight companies that were finalists in …
Photo credit: Elevar Equity.
Dealflow | April 27, 2021
India’s LEAD School secures $30 million to scale edtech platform
ImpactAlpha, April 27 — Mumbai-based LEAD School launched in 2012 to provide management services to schools serving low-income students. Its mobile app, which …
Photo credit: ExecOnline
The Reconstruction | April 22, 2021
ExecOnline raises $45 million to diversify corporate leadership
ImpactAlpha, Apr. 22 – Less than 1% of Fortune 500 CEOs are Black. Less than 10% are women. ExecOnline partners with business schools to …
Dealflow | March 30, 2021
Holberton secures $20 million to expand its “OS of Education”
ImpactAlpha, March 30 — Holberton launched a software engineering and programming education in 2016 to help students get high-paying jobs at Dropbox, Tesla, …
Dealflow | March 2, 2021
Newsela raises $100 million to bring daily news to K-12 classrooms
ImpactAlpha, March 2 — Edtech firm Newsela offers 14,000 classroom-ready texts in partnership with over 175 publishing companies, including the Associated Press, National …
Photo credit: Reach Capital
Dealflow | February 17, 2021
Reach Capital closes $165 million fund for edtech startups
ImpactAlpha, February 17 — Reach Capital has raised $165 million for its latest fund to invest in early stage edtech companies. Reach Capital …
Dealflow | February 8, 2021
SJF Ventures closes $175 million fifth fund to ride COVID acceleration
ImpactAlpha, February 8 — SJF Ventures has closed its fifth fund at $175 million. The Durham, N.C.-based impact investing firm is looking to …
Photo credit: Meishubao
Dealflow | January 4, 2021
The Rise Fund leads $210 million round for Chinese edtech venture Meishubao
ImpactAlpha, January 4 – Beijing-based Meishubao offers artificial intelligence-based online arts classes for young students. Like many other edtech ventures, the company’s growth …
Dealflow | November 23, 2020
Bain Capital raises $800 million for second Double Impact fund
ImpactAlpha, Nov. 23 – Bain Capital is doubling down on impact. The Boston-based private equity firm raised $800 million for its second Double …
Dealflow | November 16, 2020
‘Justice tech’ and edtech ventures selected for gener8tor social enterprise accelerator
ImpactAlpha, November 16 — The Madison, Wis.-based gBeta Social Impact’s virtual accelerator is supporting 10 founders addressing equity in education and criminal justice …
Education Tech | September 8, 2020
What if… the redesign of education put racial and social equity at its core?
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 8 – The upending of this school year has made almost every student, parent and teacher, willingly or not, participants in …
Beats | April 15, 2020
The Sustainable Investing Challenge has become a leading indicator of talent and ideas
ImpactAlpha, Apr. 15 – MBA programs generally teach students what’s achievable using common investment tools like venture capital, private equity and debt. Business (and …
Dealflow | January 9, 2020
Edquity raises seed funding to help colleges provide emergency student aid
ImpactAlpha, January 8 – As the price of higher education has soared, millions of students are dropping out of school, often because of …
Dealflow | November 13, 2019
French entrepreneurs raise $5.5 million for Lalilo’s U.S. literacy app
ImpactAlpha, November 13 – American students got poor grades for reading proficiency in the latest national report card from the National Center for …
Canada | September 17, 2019
Classcraft raises $7.5 million to gamify K-12 curricula
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 17 – Classrooms, meet Minecraft. Classcraft allows teachers to turn existing curriculum into gamified personalized quests. Investissement Québec led the Quebec and …
Dealflow | June 27, 2019
Climb Hire rakes in $2 million for tech-training cooperative
ImpactAlpha, June 27 – Climb Hire lets learners pay as they earn, like some of the other tech-training startups and coding bootcamps touting their digital …
Dealflow | June 3, 2019
Kleiner Perkins backs Pillar’s launch to tackle student debt repayment
ImpactAlpha, June 3 – New York-based Pillar wants to whittle down the U.S.’s $1.5 trillion student debt issue by helping people understand and plan their …
Dealflow | May 23, 2019
Abl acquires School by Design to improve allocation of school resources
ImpactAlpha, May 23 – Understanding how schools and school districts allocate resources plays a key role improving equitable access to education. Two edtech companies with …