The following venture capital firms were the most active investors in ed-tech this year:
- Reach Capital – investments include Abl Schools, BetterLesson, ClassDojo, Freshgrade, Gradescope, KickUp, Piper, SchoolMint, Tynker, Volley
- Learn Capital – investments include Andela, CourseHorse, Fluent City, Schoold, SoloLearn, Teachable, VIPKID, Wonder Workshop
- University Ventures – investments include CollegeVine, Credly, Galvanize, Portfolium, Revature, Schoold, UNICAF
- 500 Startups – investments include Noodle Partners, Piper, Platzi, StudySoup, Tinkergarten, Transweb
- Omidyar Network – investments include Andela, Ellevation, Platzi, Skillshare, Spark Schools, Tinkergarten
- Kapor Capital – investments include ClassDojo, CodeSpark, Constant Therapy, SchoolMint, Student Loan Genius
- Sequoia Capital – investments include BYJU’s, Cuemath, Everwise, VIPKID, Zuoyebang
The following individuals were the most active angel investors in ed-tech this year:
- John Katzman (co-founder of The Princeton Review and 2U) – investments include StudySoup, Tabtor Math, Tinkergarten, Tynker
- Deborah Quazzo (founder of GSV Advisors) – investments include Nearpod, Degreed, Handshake, KickUp, Speakaboos, Tynker
The most active investors were not necessarily the ones investing the most money. Of the ten companies that raised over $50 million this year, Sequoia Capital participated in three of those rounds (BYJU’s, VIPKID, Zuoyebang); Lightspeed Venture Partners participated in two (Affirm and BYJU’s). There was just one investor in the largest ed-tech investment this year – the $150 million Iconiq Capital invested in app maker Age of Learning.
Celebrity investments:
- Richard Branson invested in Codecademy
- Kobe Bryant invested in VIPKID
- Mark Cuban and Chris Sacca invested in Brightwheel after the startup appeared on the reality TV show Shark Tank
See also: Peter Thiel’s ed-tech investment portfolio; Mark Zuckerberg’s ed-tech investment portfolio; the Emerson Collective’s ed-tech portfolio; Y Combinator’s ed-tech portfolio; Gates Foundation grant recipients in 2016