The EdSheet Vol. 22

This newsletter covers the business side of the education industry - venture funding, M&A, other financial transactions. Whiteboard Advisors also publishes a daily newsletter - What We’re Reading - of curated, industry-focused news clips and a weekly newsletter - Whiteboard Notes - which covers policy, industry trends, and insights from W/A CEO Ben Wallerstein.

Hello! 

It was wonderful seeing many of you in NYC for EdTech Week this week! Short edition today due to travel, but stay tuned on Youtube and LinkedIn over the next few days for a number of new transaction deep dives.

With that, onto the news.

Funding / M&A

Whiteboard Advisors not only provides policy and market-related diligence and advisory services, we track every financial transaction that happens in education — and keep a record of all deals that are publicly announced.

The following transactions caught our eye over the past few weeks. If you have a deal to announce, or would like access to the full transactions database, please reach out.

Venture Funding

• Findem raises $51M / US, Recruiting Software / SLW, Wing Ventures, Harmony Capital, Four Rivers Group, 

• Starbridge raises $42M / US, Procurement / Craft Ventures, Owl Ventures, Commonweal Ventures, Autotech Ventures

• Second Nature raises $22M / Israel, Training Provider (Sales) / Sienna VC, Bright Pixel, StageOne Ventures, Cardumen, Signals VC, Zoom / 

• Jack & Jill raises $20M / UK, Recruiting Software / Creandum, Dig Ventures, Entrepreneurs First, Ada Ventures

• SpeakX.ai raises $16M / India, English Language Learning / WestBridge Capital, Elevation Capital, Goodwater Capital

• Magma Math raises $10M / Sweden, Curriculum Provider (Math) / Five Elms Capital

• The AI Toy Company raises $5.3M / US, Content Provider / Makers Fund, Samsung Ventures, Boost VC, Founders Inc.

• RallyBoard raises $2.4M / US, Professional Network / Rethink Education, South Park Commons

• Chalkie raises £1M / UK, Instructional Design / Triple Point Ventures

M&A

• Campus acquires Sizzle AI / US, Degree Providers

• K12 Coalition acquires Keys to Literacy / US, Professional Development

• Ignite Reading acquires Esteam / US, Tutoring

• AlphaBEST acquires iCAMP / US, Extracurricular Activities

• Springshare acquires Pathrise / US, Career Pathways

• Cordance acquires AppsAnywhere / US, HED Software Infrastructure

• Level Education Group acquires Triad to Transform / US, Certification (Mental Health)

• SNVA Edutech acquires Edureka / India, Corporate Upskilling

Buyouts

• Nautic Partners acquires Cenavera Nutrition / US, K12 School Infrastructure (Food)

Other Financings

• OpenLearning raises $2.6M / Australia, LMS

• Knack raises Series B / US, Student Support Services / New Markets Venture Partners

What’s on your Whiteboard? CEO Perspectives

Bridging Education and Industry with Brandon Busteed

Introducing Odonata Ventures: A New Approach to Early-stage Private Credit

News of Note

This section is intended to be more exploratory, a reflection of stories, ideas, and trends that I think are important for EdTech executives and investors to be aware of. 

K12

• Moneyball for minors: inside the booming business of youth sports apps.

• Study of Arkansas ESA utilization shows 91% retention rate 3 years in.

• Affordable housing for teachers is on the rise.

• Virtual tutoring is here to stay. New research points to ways to make it better.

• “Republicans are now kicking Democrats in the butt” on education policy.

  • Why? Some | say | low expectations, others say the results are real.

Higher Ed

• The man betting everything on AI and Bill Belichick.

• U.S. Soccer pushes for overhaul of college soccer.

  • Related, is “sports” a liberal arts major?

• Applications to US business schools decline (slightly), while international applications rise.

• As demographics shift and traditional-age students question the value of college, might colleges turn to retirees for growth?

• Can a university from Tennessee accelerate growth in West Palm Beach?

Workforce

• Some of America’s best jobs have a PR problem.

• Nurses are in high demand. Why can’t nursing schools keep up?

  • Related, to find workers, hospitals are training teenagers.

• California awards $30M in Apprenticeship Innovation Funding to grow in-state apprenticeship programs.

• The U.S. Army’s surprisingly successful preparatory course.

Other

• The Danish Center for IT in Education introduces an “AI Drivers License” for vocational teachers.

  • Related, the UK’s Digital Badging Commission advocates for the establishment of national Digital Skills Wallet to make professional skills “visible, inclusive, trusted and portable.”

Looking for your next opportunity in education? Check out our W/A Jobs, which features 3,488 career opportunities from 312 organizations across the education industry. A few roles that we’re excited about from the past week:

• Udemy is hiring an Austin or San Francisco-based Vice President of Engineering for their Skills and Learning Team to lead engineering strategy and execution for the company’s marketplace platforms.

• General Assembly is hiring a New York-based Senior Enterprise Account Director to initiate and grow relationships with the company’s corporate partners.

• Panorama Education is hiring a remote Senior Product Manager to own strategy and execution of the company’s AI-first initiatives.

Whiteboard Advisors is the leading policy-related diligence partner for education investors, advising on most major private equity transactions in education over the past 15 years. Our specialty is translating complex policy dynamics into insights that inform decision-making. Reply to this email to learn more.