Our next Bay Area Edtech Happy Hour is coming up on December 15 in San Francisco at Driftwood (1125 Folsom Street)! This is a monthly recurring event where we come together as a community to connect, collaborate, and enjoy a drink together! Anyone is welcome to attend.
We’d love to see you there! Please RSVP if you plan to attend!
As we continue to collect all the amazing insights that were shared on October 26 at the AI + EDU Conference, we are putting together written overviews of each session! These overviews include a list of discussion topics, key quotes from the session, and links to watch replays and learn more about speakers!
So far we have overviews written for the first four sessions of the conference, with more coming soon! You can check them out below and share with anyone who might be interested:
If you haven’t yet, check out replays for all of our conference sessions on our Youtube channel! And, feel free to share on social or with friends that weren’t able to make it!
This edition of the Edtech Insiders Newsletter is sponsored byTuck Advisors.
Tuck Advisors is a trusted name in education M&A. Founded by serial entrepreneurs with over 25 years of experience starting, investing in, and selling companies, we believe founders deserve M&A advisors who work as hard as they do. If you receive any UFO's™, unsolicited flattering offers, be sure to reach out to us at confidential@tuckadvisors.com. We can help you determine if it's a hoax or if it's real.
This is a monumental acquisition set to “accelerate the use of voice AI in the classrooms of tomorrow, improving teaching and learning outcomes for Grades K–12 literacy, mathematics, and more.” We are extremely excited to see how SoapBox’s voice AI technology will be more accessible than ever for K12 learners through the wide network and reach Curriculum Associates has to offer.
The acquisition will support K12 districts in improving student success through improved communications. The hope is to pull on Remind’s strong teacher audience to better serve and interconnect teachers, school districts, students, and broader school communities.
Phil Hill offered a deep dive into the full 2U saga, predicting a more than 50% chance of bankruptcy, as 2U has gone completely into debt to fund the Trilogy and Edx acquisitions. As interest rates rise, and funds from pulling out of college deals are being used to stave off debt, the trajectory of this edtech giant isn’t looking up.
5. Tech Spark AI raises $1.4 million for ChatGPT Alternative
After a year of ChatGPT and Gen-AI fundamentally changing the landscape of technology, inclusivity and diversity in AI remain a challenge and focus of the field.
Their black owned alternative to current AI search platforms like ChatGPT is trained on Gen Z content and historical Black literature, and contains unique features like text translation from standard text to African American Vernacular English (AAVE).
We are so excited to see alternative models like this popping up with significant funding and backing, diversifying what Gen-AI is and who it is serving.
Accelerate Your Impact with ISTE
This edition of the EdTech Insiders Newsletter is sponsored by ISTE.
At ISTE, we help edtech companies improve products through valuable feedback from expert educators, connect with classroom influencers and district decision makers and provide exclusive third-party validation to help you stand out in the crowded edtech market. Explore the different opportunities ISTE has available for you!
Are you an edtech employer looking to hire high-performing edtech talent? If you would be excited to hire an edtech-focused graduate student for a ~10 week digital internship, submit your proposal for the Edtech MBA community now! The deadline to apply is December 22!
The fellowship will provide you access to top talent who are passionate and committed to the edtech sector. The EdTech MBA Community includes 1200+ diverse students who have shown a significant interest in edtech from dozens of top graduate programs globally, such as Stanford GSB and GSE, Harvard Business School and Graduate School of Education, Kellogg Northwestern, MIT Sloan, Duke Fuqua, Wharton, and London Business School.
Get those applications in soon to be matched with some of these amazing edtech professionals!
The next livestream learning experience with theStory Xperiential Team is happening on December 15! If you, or anyone you know that is 13+ would be interested in participating, there is still time to register!
X in a Box, founded by Pixar veterans Elyse Klaidman and Tony DeRose and Khan Academy veteran Brit Cruise, offers a project-based, Pixar-style storytelling experience where learners bring their stories to life along with world-class storytellers from studios like Pixar, Netflix, and Dreamworks.
Designed to emphasize community learning that prioritizes inspiration, collaboration and confidence, X in a Box offers a one of a kind learning experience, that is now also incoproating Gen-AI as part of the digital storytelling process.
Learn more about X in a Box and their upcoming workshop at the link!
This edition of the EdTech Insiders Newsletter is sponsored by Reach Capital.
Connecting the dots between educational opportunities to economic mobility underpins many of our investments at Reach Capital. Our new report, ReimagineWork, offers a data-rich look at changing attitudes towards jobs, the impact of AI, and how businesses are bracing for the future of work.
If you are a founder working to help solve the skills gap and support the future workforce, reach out!
We have had some amazing guests on The Edtech Insiders Podcast in the last few weeks. Make sure to check out our recent episodes, including:
Maria Barrera, founder and CEO of Clayful, on addressing the youth mental health crisis.
Per Borgen, CEO and co-founder of Scrimba (YC S20), an interactive code-learning platform with over a million users worldwide.
Anurupa Ganguly, founder and CEO of Prisms, a VR based paradigm shift in STEM education.
Funding, Mergers, and Acquisitions
Our latest reporting on funding, mergers, and acquisitions comes from Matt Tower’s publication EdTech Thoughts. Matt does an incredible job of covering the latest funding, news, industry updates, and more! If you love Edtech Insiders, be sure to subscribe to Matt’s newsletter as well.
Clayful raises $7M / US, Mental Health / Reach Capital, Ovo Fund, Common Sense Ventures, Charter School Growth Fund, Wisdom Ventures, Google Latino Founders Fund
Augment raises $6M / France, Degree Alternatives / RTP Global, Motier Ventures, Origins Fund, Kima Ventures, BPI France, Financière Saint James
Nolej raises €3M / France, AI Tutoring / Educapital, Square Knowledge Ventures
