Our EdTech Funding Coverage is brought to you by Digital Education.
In this EdTech Funding Roundup we take a look at investments we haven’t covered in our regular news rundown in July.
WeSpeke, a social network for language and cultural exchange, raised a $3 million Series B. OpenEd, a search and recommendation engine for Common Core aligned resources, raised a $2 million Seed Round. MamaBear, an all-in-one parenting app, raised a $1.4 million Angel Round. ClassOwl, a communication and organization app for college students, raised an $850k Seed Round.
Language Learning Network WeSpeke raised $3 million Series B
WeSpeke, a global social network for language and cultural exchange, raised a $3 million Series B. Details of the round have not been disclosed.
Founded in 2010 by Michael Elchik and Jaime Carbonell, WeSpeke connects learners from across the globe for practicing language and sharing their cultures with each other. Learners get matched based on common interest and complementary languages through a patent pending technology.
The funding will be used to grow the team, launch new features and further expand internationally.
Video
Further Reading
- WeSpeke Raises 3M in Series B Round | Press Release
Links
Common Core Resource Library OpenEd raises $2 million Seed Round
OpenEd, a Common Core resource library for the K-12 space, raised a $2 million Seed Round from PivotNorth Capital at a $ 10 million valuation. The startup had previously raised capital in a family and friends round of funding.
Founded in 2012 by Adam and Lisa Blum and formally launched in October 2013, OpenEd provides teachers with a search and recommendation engine based on its catalog of over a million resources including videos, games, assessments and courses, most of which are aligned to the Common Core and other standards.
According to CEO Adam Blum, the service is used by over 100.000 teachers and also offers an API for other edtech companies to integrate the search function in their products for a monthly fee. Other revenue streams like premium content and monthly subscriptions for teachers will be launched soon.
Video
Further Reading
- OpenEd Obtains $2,000,000 Seed Round | Xconomy
Links
Parenting App MamaBear raises $1.4 million
MamaBear, a all-in-one parenting app that combines location tracking with monitoring of the child’s social media activity, raised a $1.4 million angel round reports the Tampa Bay Business Journal.
Parents can set up monitoring via geofencing, they can monitor their children’s activities on social media sites like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter or set a speed limit for those kids who can already drive a car. Through the app parents can see who befriends their child on Facebook, they can preview Instagram uploads and blacklist certain words.
MamaBear completed its beta testing in June and is now introducing premium features through subscriptions. A basic service with 5 alerts per day will remain free.
Video
Further Reading
- MamaBear app backers raises $1.4 million for growth | Tampa Bay Business Journal
- Mamabear Raises $1.4 Million For A Parenting App That Monitors Children’s Social Media Use And More | TechCrunch
Links
Classroom Communication and Organization App ClassOwl raises $850k Seed Round
ClassOwl, a communication and organization app for college students, raised an $850k Seed Round from Follett Knowledge Fund, The Stanford StartX Fund, Dorm Room Fund and angel investors, which brings the total funding raised by the startup to $900k.
Founded in 2013 by Sam Purtill and Julienne Lam as an undergraduate project at Stanford, ClassOwl helps students to stay organized, manage their time and keep up to date with their teacher’s tasks. ClassOwl is a graduate of last year’s Pearson Catalyst Program.
Video
Further Reading
- ClassOwl: Student-Focused Planning App Announces Seed Round | Press Release
Links
Other Funding Rounds in July 2014
- Hippocampus raises $2.4 million for Learning Centers in Rural India
- Sudiksha gets $50k from Pearson Affordable Learning Fund for Pre-Schools in Underprivileged Areas
- eHarmony for Student Housing Comfy raises $600k Seed Round
- Data Management Solutions Provider STI raises $3 million
- Galvanize raised $9.7 million for its Seed Investment Fund
- HEDLINE: DataWind, Maker of the Aakash Tablet, raises $28 million in IPO
- Online Community for College Students ClusterFlunk raises $1 million
- Higher Ed SaaS Provider Regent Education raises $9 million
- ELL Software Platform Ellevation Education raises $2 million
- With $1 billion in new Funding Flipkart eyes E-Learning
- Twitter Translation Service Fliplingo raises $150k Seed Round
- Education Payment Service PhilSmile raises Seed Round
- Test Prep Platform Wanxue raises Series C led by Baidu
- Exam Database Yuantiku raises $15 million Series C
- E-Learning Startup Taamkru raises $620k Seed Round
- HEDLINE: Patience.io raises Series A led by Holtzbrinck Digital