Kindred is an early stage venture capital fund based in London that practices equitable venture. Kindred aligns ambitions and achievements with the portfolio. In structure and in spirit. Every single founder that the company backs will become a co-owner of the fund.

Kindred Capital

The Ropart Asset Management Funds (â€œRAMâ€) is a private equity firm that invests directly in small to midsize companies.  The firm pursues a flexible strategy, investing throughout the capital structure and in multiple industries, including Business Services, Healthcare Services, Consumer Products, Financial Services, and Software/Technology.  The current portfolio is composed of platform/control investments - usually leveraged buyouts (''LBOs''), mezzanine lending, and growth capital investments. RAM also makes opportunistic investments in distressed or special situations (e.g., secondary market purchases of private equity fund LP interests).  RAM uses its proprietary network to source revenue collaborations, strategic alliances, M&A transactions, and raise additional capital. Post closing, Ropart works actively alongside management to help build long-term company value.  Furthermore, RAM uses its extensive relationships among senior executives and operating-level managers to provide business and technical expertise, management talent, and industry specific investment analysis to portfolio companies. RAM regularly relies on these executives to serve on our portfolio companiesâ€™ Boards of Directors.

Ropart Asset Management

SAATCHiNVEST is a venture capital and investment firm. The Firm makes seed and early stage investments in startup companies within the technology sector.

SAATCHiNVEST

Reach supports entrepreneurs that develops technology solutions for challenges across early childhood, K-12, higher education, and workforce reskilling and upskilling. They invest in early-stage tech tools, applications, content, and services to improve educational opportunities for all learners. The Fund also acts as a catalyst, inspiring and enabling traditional and non-traditional investors to provide capital to the fast-growing ed-tech market.

Reach Capital

Trustbridge is a growth-oriented private equity firm with offices in Boston, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. The firm invests globally in innovative, high quality growth opportunities in various stages across Technology, Healthcare and Media. Founded and managed by entrepreneurs and operators, Trustbridge provides patient, long-term capital and partners with management teams building products and services that improve lives globally. Utilizing a growing, global portfolio and deep operational expertise, the firm has a particular focus on helping its portfolio companies enter new international markets, including China.

Trustbridge Partners

Mrs Wordsmith

Mrs Wordsmith is the world’s most innovative vocabulary programme. They combine data science and creativity to illustrate the 10,000 words that matter for academic success. Launched in 2016 in London, Mrs Wordsmith is one of the fastest-growing, VC backed startups in the UK. They help young people learn efficiently through engaging content from the Hollywood artists behind Madagascar. Their words are carefully selected and curated by Cambridge University data scientists to ensure that children learn the words they will come across at school and in the books they read. Loved by teachers, parents and students.

<div>Mrs Wordsmith offers books and games designed to help children aged 4–11 improve vocabulary, literacy, and emotional intelligence. The company has curated a list of 10,000 words deemed essential for building literacy skills, referred to as the ‘10,000 Word Journey'. Mrs Wordsmith launched two digital products in 2020: an app to teach children aged 4–7 how to read and a social 3D word game for 7–11-year-olds. More recently, in June 2022, the company launched an adventure-filled video game, “Word Tag,” that uses a combination of missions, rewards, and character narratives to support children aged 7–13 to improve their vocabulary skills.  </div>

Remote learning is driving an education technology revolution.

EdTech: K-12

Mrs Wordsmith Announces Promotion of Brandon Cardet-Hernandez to President and Hiring of Aimée Bryan as First Chief Customer Officer

<div>
 
 Mrs Wordsmith offers books and games designed to help children aged 4–11 improve vocabulary, literacy, and emotional intelligence. The company has curated a list of 10,000 words deemed essential for building literacy skills, referred to as the ‘10,000 Word Journey'. Mrs Wordsmith launched two digital products in 2020: an app to teach children aged 4–7 how to read and a social 3D word game for 7–11-year-olds. More recently, in June 2022, the company launched an adventure-filled video game, “Word Tag,” that uses a combination of missions, rewards, and character narratives to support children aged 7–13 to improve their vocabulary skills.  
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 In May 2021, the company partnered with publishing company DK for a range of printed products.
 
 
 Funding and financials 
 
 
 In its most recent funding round in December 2019, Mrs Wordsmith raised about USD 1.5 million through a crowdfunding campaign on Crowdcube. The funding was to launch the company’s vocabulary-building video game Epic Word Adventure in new geographies and develop more content.
 
</div>

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

Mrs Wordsmith

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