Capita3  is building a global financing institution for investing in exceptional women leading game-changing companies. In addition to financial investment. They focus on developing startup CEOs to maximize their growth and the company's exit potential.

Capita3

ECMC is a non-profit corporation that supports the administration of the Federal Family Education Loan Program as a student loan guaranty agency. It sponsors programs to help students and families plan and pay for college. ECMC works with schools and loan servicers to lower student loan default rates, promote financial literacy, and provide resources to support student loan borrowers to repay their loans. It provides postsecondary institutions with a suite of services that includes financial literacy, student loan repayment counseling, and default prevention. ECMC is headquartered in Oakdale, Pennsylvania.

ECMC

Great North Ventures invests in entrepreneurs who are using the latest breakthrough technologies to innovate industries still dominated by analog processes. From Seed to Series B, the team provides guidance, capital, and connections. The fund looks for the best startups wherever they are located, because the next generation of great companies are growing outside of Silicon Valley. Built by successful founders, Great North Ventures values the ability to execute above all else.

Great North Ventures

Groove Capital is a new investment firm targeting early-stage companies.

Groove Capital

EmpowerU

EmpowerU engages struggling students in their wellness journey through social-emotional learning lessons and coaching support. EmpowerU’s highly personalized, online social-emotional learning program helps young people replace anxiety and depression with resilience and confidence, fueling student transformation at a fraction of the cost of therapy. The company's platform provides online courses and daily personalized coaching infused with neuroscience, cognitive behavioral therapy, and a strengths-based approach to encourage students to make personal changes.

Co-founded in 2018 by mental health workers Katie Dorn and Abby Master and based in Twin Cities, Minnesota, EmpowerU is a social emotional learning (SEL) provider. The company provides daily SEL learning modules and one-on-one access to mental health practitioners. EmpowerU addresses common mental health issues experienced by students such as depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem. The company’s products are available to K-12 and higher education students in mobile and web versions. As of January 2021, EmpowerU had been used by about 1,000 learners.

Remote learning is driving an education technology revolution.

EdTech: K-12

FullBloom Acquires EmpowerU, Deepening Its Commitment to Mental Health Services

Co-founded in 2018 by mental health workers Katie Dorn and Abby Master and based in Twin Cities, Minnesota, EmpowerU is a social emotional learning (SEL) provider. The company provides daily SEL learning modules and one-on-one access to mental health practitioners. EmpowerU addresses common mental health issues experienced by students such as depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem. The company’s products are available to K-12 and higher education students in mobile and web versions. As of January 2021, EmpowerU had been used by about 1,000 learners.In March 2020, the company offered the public access to content, videos, and tools at no cost via weekly posts to help deal with Covid-19-related stress and anxiety. In September 2021, the company launched an online learning platform to provide social-emotional learning (SEL) and support for K–12 students.During 2020, EmpowerU received an Innovation Grant of USD 32,000 from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development as part of the state’s efforts to support technology startups and entrepreneurs. In January 2021, the company raised USD 1 million in seed funding to scale its services beyond its home state of Minnesota to the broader US market.

Founded in 2016, BookNook is an online literacy platform designed for learners in grades 1-5. Partnering with school districts and non-profit organizations, the company focuses on human-to-human learning and works with children one-on-one or in small groups, enabling it to gather rich, observational data. As of June 2021, the company partnered with hundreds of schools, school districts, and non-profits across 35 states.BookNook differs from other digital literacy tools by not requiring students to take formative assessments to check for their understanding. Rather, the platform lets teachers record qualitative data on oral fluency, such as whether a student pauses at punctuation marks as they read aloud, or reads in set phrases. Students can also record self-reflections on the platform.In June 2021, the company partnered with MIND Research Institute, a neuroscience and education social impact organization and creator of the PreK-8 visual instructional program ST Math, to deliver a High Dosage Tutoring program (HDT) for math to K-8 students to address unfinished learning. BookNook tutors will deliver tutoring sessions using the ST Math program over BookNook’s synchronous learning platform. The company launched a new teacher application portal at booknooktutor.com in October 2021, giving experienced teachers the opportunity to apply to become BookNook virtual tutors on its platform. BookNook intends to engage 10,000 virtual teachers to support 80,000 students by the end of the 2021-2022 school year.

BookNook

Story2 uses its proprietary Moments Method writing system, its StoryBuilder software, and live online group coaching to help high school students and professionals improve their writing, speaking, storytelling, and collaboration skills.The company aims to help different segments with their specific needs: students with college admission and scholarship essays, professionals preparing for interviews and creating cover letters, and business teams to improve sales, recruiting and company messaging through effective storytelling.Since 2013, Story2 has worked with more than 200,000 individuals in 21 countries with college admission essays, interview preparation, and pitching ideas. The company is expanding into China and India in 2020 and plans to focus on helping science and technology students improve their communication and leadership skills.

Story2

<div>
 
 Vooks offers a subscription-based, ad-free curated library of children's books converted to video with narration and some slow-paced animation, allowing children to read along while watching. Aimed at young children aged 6 months to 8 years, Vooks promotes reading aloud to develop fluency and comprehension. The company was founded by siblings Marshall Bex and Shannon Bex, and Russell Hirtzel, and is reportedly the first-ever streaming service for books with illustrations, read-along text and animations.
 
 
 In February 2020, Vooks raised USD 12 million in Series A funding; however, the investors and purpose of the funding were not disclosed. In November 2020, the company raised USD 21.9 million in equity investments from more than 30 investors.
 
 
 In November 2020, Vooks partnered with United Way of Metropolitan Dallas (UWMD), a community-based, nonprofit social change organization, and Atmos Energy, a natural gas distributor, to provide around 78,000 one-year Vooks subscriptions for children aged 3 to 6 and early education teachers in the Greater Dallas area. The program is funded by a USD 1 million contribution from Atmos Energy, and contributes to UWMD’s Aspire United 2030 education goal of increasing the number of North Texas students reading at grade level by third grade by 50%. Similarly, in March 2021, the company partnered with Reach Out and Read Of Greater New York (ROR GNY), a nonprofit organization of healthcare providers who promote early literacy. The partnership aims to provide more than 75,000 preschool children with one-year Vooks subscriptions starting in March 2021.
 
 
 In July 2021, it was reported that Vooks is offering its service to authors and producers as a way of quickly testing ideas with audiences through simple animated shorts. Thereby, Vooks expands its library of original content while authors and producers get real-time performance data.
 
</div>

Vooks

Xeropan offers an AI-powered, game-based approach to learning English through 14 of the most widely-spoken languages. As of October 2020, the app had more than one million players.

Xeropan

<div>
 
 GoGuardian is a provider of student security software solutions to help educators identify learning patterns, protect students from harmful and distracting content, and support students at risk of self-harm and suicide. As of August 2021, the company had partnered with more than 10,000 schools in the US, covering more than 22 million students.  
 
 
 In November 2020, GoGuardian announced a 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/1863">
 merger with Pear Deck
 </a>
 to deepen the support provided to students and teachers and improve their in-class experience. Founded in 2014, Pear Deck is a student engagement platform that allows teachers to create, edit, and launch multimedia content and formative assessments on students' devices to increase student engagement. At the time of the merger, Pear Deck was used by 8 million educators and students in more than 17,000 schools worldwide. Pear Deck co-founder and Chief Educator, Michal Eynon-Lynch, will join the GoGuardian Board of Directors. In May 2022, the company acquired 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/10683">
 TutorMe,
 </a>
 Zovio’s tutoring services business, for USD 55 million in cash to strengthen its product offering. 
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 In August 2021, GoGuardian secured a USD 200 million investment from Tiger Global Management. The funds will be allocated for product innovation, talent acquisition, and business development. 
 
 
 
</div>

GoGuardian

Businesses providing education delivery solutions such as learning management systems (LMS), and tech solutions for data analytics, administration, and other services to educational institutions.

Businesses delivering curriculum-based learning, particularly relating to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education to educational institutions and individual students.

Mostly for-profit corporations running state-funded, tuition-free schools as an alternative to traditional public schools.

Businesses providing extra-curricular education relating to the arts, hobbies, and life skills, and entities providing college and career guidance.

Businesses delivering English language arts (ELA) education, and language learning and literacy support to educational institutions and individual students.

Platforms providing students with after-school tutoring support on an individual or group basis.

Businesses delivering early childhood education, special education, and social-emotional learning (SEL) programs to educational institutions and individual students.

Entities providing professional development resources and tools for teachers, and those providing testing and assessment solutions to educational institutions and educators.

Platforms providing student-parent-teacher-school communication and networking solutions, and those providing search, reference, and marketplace solutions.

Companies that use GenAI as a core part of their product offering for EdTech: K12 solutions

Uses GenAI to provide interactive AI tutors, create personallized learning pathways,  and gamified learning solutions

Uses AI/ML to create personalized learning plans, adaptive learning platforms, and intelligent tutoring systems

Adaptive learning platforms, personalized learning plans, and AI-powered analytics provide insight into student performance

Learning platforms that promote an inclusive and equitable educational culture for underserved communities

EmpowerU

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