Nourishing Innovation: Investment in EdTech

The global education market is undergoing a dramatic and drastic shift due to the advent of technological advancements. Improved technology has paved the way for better and cost-effective education. Academic institutions provide off-campus courses, and edtech app providers have introduced online platforms to learn from home. This digitally improved education system has been widely accepted all over the world. Research and Markets predicted the global education technology market would grow at a rate of 15.4 percent from 2018 to 2024. According to the U.S. Department of Education, almost 48 states and District of Columbia encourage the implementation of online learning platform. For implementing online education, U.S. has moved further through the introduction of online and virtual schools, such as The Florida Virtual School, Utah Electronic High School, and North California Virtual High School. These schools break the conventional notion of schooling system by providing online education and online credit.

The inclusion of technology has made the education market extremely competitive. Companies like Vedantu, CodeMonkey, Byju’s, and HelpHub are leading this game. Owl Ventures invests in education technology. It has already invested in 24 companies. Recently, the company raised $315 million for investments in leading education technology companies. Previously, Owl Ventures launched a fund of $100 million to support startups which proved their product to be fit for the market.

Owl Ventures’ investment in Lingo Live, Piper, and Tinkergarten was interesting. Lingo Live is a provider of online language and communication coaching to thousands of employees and is associated with global giants like Eventbrite, NBC Universal, and Outbrain. Piper has enabled massive engagement of students in STEM education.  Tinkergarten is a provider of a technology-enabled network to offer children the chance to learn through play.

BetterLesson, a Boston-based provider of online coaching platform raised $10 million funds in a funding round led by Owl Ventures. Better Lesson’s primary focus is on 1:1 professional development. It supports new teachers and provides personalized learning through pre-created lesson plans and resources.