New York Angels is one of the largest and most active angel investment organizations.  Founded in 2004 as the successor organization to the NYNMA (New York New Media Association) Angel Investor Program, New York Angels is a membership organization of over 110 active angel investors and early stage venture capital funds. The group meets monthly to screen and present early stage technology companies, and its members have invested over $100 million since 2002 into over 90 ventures. In April of 2017, PItchbook identified New York Angels as #3 in their list of the 8 top VCs funding seed rounds of New York-based companies.  Among the NYA membership are nationally known angel investors including Esther Dyson and David S. Rose. The group has one full-time staff, reporting to an 11 person Board of Directors chaired by Brian S. Cohen. Dr. Elizabeth Lindsey is currently Program Director of New York Angels. Since 2012, the membership has increased by 66% and investment activity has grown by over 215%.   New York Angels concentrates on early stage investments in the range of $100,000 - $1,000,000, although it has led deals as large as $2 million. It receives over 2,200 financing applications annually, from which it selects 12-16 companies each month for an in-person screening, where all members of New York Angels are invited to attend. The group meets again for an Investment Breakfast at the end of the month, where 2-4 opportunities present to the membership with a goal to close their current investment round within two months. The group is considered a leader in the growing field of organized angel investing. It was the first member of the national Angel Capital Association, hosted the ACA Summit conference in 2006, and was the initial test group for the now-standard gust (Angelsoft) funding platform.  Membership as an investor in New York Angels is by invitation only, and members are required to commit to investing at least $50,000 annually in early stage technology deals, in addition to the group's $3,500 annual membership dues.  Requests for funding for entrepreneurial ventures may be self-submitted through the group's website. New York Angels charges no fees to entrepreneurs.

New York Angels

The Kaplan EdTech Accelerator, powered by TechStars, is a three month intensive, deep immersion program for ten education startups. The program is being held on-site in New York, NY and will run from June-September. Startups will have access to top-notch industry mentors, resources and round-the-clock support as well as the chance to pitch to angel investors and venture capitalists at the end of the program.

Kaplan EdTech Accelerator

Techstars is a global platform that provides investment and innovation. Through the Techstars Worldwide Entrepreneur Network, founders and their teams connect with other entrepreneurs, experts, mentors, alumni, investors, community leaders, and corporate partners who will help their companies grow. Techstars operates four divisions: Techstars Mentorship-Driven Accelerator Program supercharges success and Techstars Startup Programs inspire, educate, and connect entrepreneurs. Techstars Venture Capital Fund invests in innovative and disruptive companies. Techstars Corporate Innovation Partnerships help brands create products and services. Techstars' accelerator portfolio includes more than 1,000 companies with a market cap of $8.1 billion.

Techstars

TWJ Capital makes growth equity investments in expansion stage companies which need ''acceleration capital'' to achieve growth inflection,  venture capital investments in start-up and early stage companies, and investments in recapitalizations and leveraged buy-outs in the lower middle market. Their portfolio composition is approximately 40% growth equity investments, 40% start-up and early stage investments, and 20% recapitalizations and leveraged buy-outs.  Their investments are generally in the range of $500,000 to $5 million, and are generally in transactions up to $25 million in size.  TWJ capital has a medium term investment horizon of three to four years, and their due diligence focuses on quality of company management and clearly defined catalysts for company growth and exit strategies.

TWJ Capital

Collaborative seed & Growth Partners LLC is a venture capital firm based in Newton, Massachusetts. Collaborative seed & Growth Partners LLC considers seed, early stage, and mid stage investments. Collaborative seed & Growth Partners LLC has invested in PatientsLikeMe, Inc.

Collaborative Seed & Growth Partners

Edovate Capital is a seed and early stage venture capital company that invests in the education sector.

Edovate Capital

PFIC provides strategic investment capital and enterprising consulting solutions to small and medium sized early stage companies.

Padgett Family Investment Company, LLC (“PFIC”)

Pipeline Angels is changing the face of angel investing and creating capital for women and non-binary femme social entrepreneurs. Since Pipeline Angels launched April 2011, over 200 members have graduated from our angel investing bootcamp and have invested more than US$4M in 40+ companies via our pitch summit process. Our members serve as the friends and family round for entrepreneurs who may not already have support at that critical stage. Pipeline Angels is currently accepting applications for its signature bootcamp for new investors and for its signature pitch summit for entrepreneurs looking for funding.

Pipeline Angels

Village Capital uses the power of peer support to change the traditional dynamics between investors and entrepreneurs, providing access to entrepreneurship for everyone.  We recruit entrepreneurs solving specific problems in agriculture, energy, education, financial inclusion, and health. We then put the power of investment in the hands of the entrepreneurs, who award pre-committed seed funding to the two ventures ranked highest by the entrepreneurs at the end of every program. Our programs connect high potential, early-stage entrepreneurs with the people, institutions, and capital they need to succeed. We support early-stage ventures with a 501c3 nonprofit that operates training programs for founders, investors, and communities. We also manage a for-profit, managed investment fund that provides early-stage capital to top graduates of each program, as selected by their peers. Our unique peer-selection model received McKinsey/Harvard Business Review’s prestigious M-Prize for innovation in 2013, and we have supported more than 550 enterprises across 51 programs in 9 countries. Since 2009, Village Capital has supported more than 1,000 entrepreneurs through our programs and partnered with affiliated investment funds, including VilCap Investments, that have invested seed capital in more than 90 program graduates. Over the past 8 years, our program graduates have gone on to generate $61.5M in revenue, reach 8.5 million customers, and create over 11,500 jobs. 96% of our alumni would recommend our program to other entrepreneurs, and to date and 91% of our entrepreneurs are still in business.

Village Capital

Story2

Story2 is a provider of a platform used to expand speaking, writing, and collaboration through online storytelling. Its platform uses the power of storytelling to expand writing confidence and persistence in college admissions, job search, and on the job by replacing empty words with vibrant, personal stories and writing that enable students to overcome the hurdles of the college admissions process as well as receive scholarships.

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.

Remote learning is driving an education technology revolution.

EdTech: K-12

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.

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

<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.
 
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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. 
 
 
 
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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

Story2

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