TA Associates is a global growth private equity firm. Focused on targeted sectors within five industries technology, healthcare, financial services, consumer, and business services. The firm invests in profitable, growing companies with opportunities for sustained growth, and has invested in more than 500 companies around the world. Investing as either a majority or minority investor, TA employs a long-term approach, utilizing its strategic resources to help management teams build lasting value in high-quality growth companies.

TA Associates

EQT is a private equity firm. They invest in companies and regions where there is an industrial approach. Their investment strategies include private capital, assets, credit, and public value, guided by an ownership approach and an industrial growth strategy.

Oakley Capital is a mid-market private equity investor. Oakley was set up in 2002 by Peter Dubens, an entrepreneur who wanted to create a financial partner that would understand the needs and ambitions of business founders, a partner that he himself would want to work with. It’s this entrepreneurial heritage that sets them apart. They attract like-minded businesses, and build strong partnerships with their management teams, investing their time and experience – as well as their capital – to help them grow and succeed. They back outstanding businesses in a diverse range of industries across Western Europe. Oakley has a particular track record in three sectors: Technology, Media & Telecoms (TMT); Consumer; and Education.

Oakley Capital

Educas is a global investment firm focused on the education sector. Educas has two platforms: an international premium K-12 group of 42 schools educating over 31,000 students from Nursery to Grade 12 and a tertiary platform launched in 2017.

Educas

Warburg Pincus LLC is a leading global private equity firm focused on growth investing. The firm has more than $60 billion in private equity assets under management. The firm’s active portfolio of more than 200 companies is highly diversified by stage, sector, and geography. Warburg Pincus is an experienced partner to management teams seeking to build durable companies with sustainable value. Founded in 1966, Warburg Pincus has raised 19 private equity funds, which have invested more than $90 billion in over 930 companies in more than 40 countries.  The firm is headquartered in New York with offices in Amsterdam, Beijing, Berlin, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Luxembourg, Mumbai, Mauritius, San Francisco, São Paulo, Shanghai, and Singapore. For more information please visit www.warburgpincus.com.

Warburg Pincus

Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners invests in North American infrastructure assets with stable cash flows, inflation linkage, and high barriers to entry. Stonepeak manages in excess of $1 billion of capital for its investors.  The Firm’s founding partners, Michael Dorrell and Trent Vichie, have combined thirty years of infrastructure investing experience. Together they have invested over $2 billion of equity into North American infrastructure investments. The Firm was formerly the infrastructure investment division of Blackstone.  Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners works with numerous operating partners who are exclusive to Stonepeak. The Firm’s operating partners are world class managers who drive value both in the due diligence process and post-acquisition operations.

Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners

Inspired

Inspired is a co-educational, non-denominational, independent school group designed to inspire students to achieve their maximum potential in a nurturing, progressive academic environment from ages 1 to 18.

<div><p>Inspired Education Group owns and operates more than 80 private K-12 schools across 23 countries with a student body exceeding 65,000. The group’s first online offering, King’s College Online, was launched in late 2020 and offers a blended learning option. In April 2021, the group acquired private tutoring company Ostaz (founded in Lebanon in 2017 as Synkers) to strengthen Inspired’s online education business portfolio and expand Ostaz’s reach into new markets. A group company, Inspired Education Online, plans to acquire London-based Wey Education, a provider of online classroom instruction.</p></div>

Remote learning is driving an education technology revolution.

EdTech: K-12

Inspired Education

<div>
  <p>
    Inspired Education Group owns and operates more than 80 private K-12 schools across 23 countries with a student body exceeding 65,000. The group’s first online offering, King’s College Online, was launched in late 2020 and offers a blended learning option. In April 2021, the group acquired private tutoring company Ostaz (founded in Lebanon in 2017 as Synkers) to strengthen Inspired’s online education business portfolio and expand Ostaz’s reach into new markets. A group company, Inspired Education Online, plans to acquire London-based Wey Education, a provider of online classroom instruction.
  </p>
  <p>
    In April 2021, Inspired Education Group launched its online offering in the UK with King’s College Online, allowing GCSE and A-Level students across the UK, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa to apply for enrollment in September 2021.
  </p>
</div>


<div>
  <p>
    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.
  </p>
  <p>
    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.
  </p>
  <p>
    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.
  </p>
</div>


BookNook

<div>
  <p>
    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. 
  </p>
  <p>
    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.
  </p>
  <p>
    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.
  </p>
  <p>
  </p>
</div>


Story2

<div>
  <p>
    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.
  </p>
  <p>
    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.
  </p>
  <p>
    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.
  </p>
  <p>
    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.
  </p>
</div>


Vooks

<div>
  <p>
    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.
  </p>
</div>


Xeropan

<div>
  <p>
    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.  
  </p>
  <p>
    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">
      <u>TutorMe,</u>
    </a>
     Zovio’s tutoring services business, for USD 55 million in cash to strengthen its product offering. 
  </p>
  <p>
    <b>Funding and financials</b>
  </p>
  <p>
    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. 
  </p>
  <p>
  </p>
</div>


GoGuardian

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

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

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

Inspired Education

EdTech: K-12

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SPEEDA Edge Funding Analysis: Mid-year 2022

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