This article helps provide funding data for part 3 of my annual review of the year in ed-tech

These are the education companies that the Emerson Collective, a venture philanthropy fund founded by Laurene Powell Jobs, invested in this year:

• Ellevation Education ($6,400,000) – English language learning software
• Nearpod ($9,200,000) – iPad content delivery (which has started marketing itself recently as “virtual reality”)
• FreshGrade ($11,600,000) – Digital portfolios

The Emerson Collective also funded the XQ Institute's "Super Schools" competition. It also provides funding for the education publication Chalkbeat.

Former Secretary of Education Arne Duncan joined the firm as a partner in 2016.

In 2015, the Emerson Collective invested in Udacity, AltSchool, and FreshGrade.