D.C. is known to attract some of the top education talent. Which is why it's the home to several education technology companies, such as Blackboard, 2U, Everfi and LearnZillion. So, it seems fitting, that some of the biggest D.C. tech stories of 2016 are found in the edtech space.
Let's take a look back at some of edtech stories we think were the biggest from 2016 (in no particular order)—
EverFi Raises $40M, Led By Jeff Bezos & Eric Schmidt
The D.C.-based edtech company's round was led by Amazon CEO and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos and Alphabet CEO Eric Schmidt. Other investors included New Enterprise Associates, Rethink Impact, Silicon Valley Bank and Advance Publications, which is the parent company of American City Business Journals, which owns DC Inno. The raise was a big win for the edtech company that had also
Mayor Bowser Breaks Ground on Howard University Incubator
Luma Lab, the education arm of Clearly Innovative, was selected as the operator for the Howard University's and Mayor Bowser-backed inclusive incubator, set to open in 2017. The project has shifted and changed a bit since it was first conceived, but currently, Luma Lab plans to attract entrepreneurs with ideas to help underserved communities. Once open, the incubator will be funded by a foundation set up by Luma Lab called the Luma Foundation that was established Dec. 1.
DC Edtech Startup CommonLit Scores $125K in AT&T Accelerator
When Michelle Brown made the decision to move her edtech nonprofit CommonLit from Boston to D.C., she was immediately met with a huge payoff: a spot in AT&T's Aspire Accelerator and $125,000 in funding. CommonLit is based out 1776 now and has since received a $3.9 million grant from the Department of Education.
Blackboard started off 2016 with a slight shake-up hiring SRA International CEO William Ballhaus as their new CEO, president and chairman in January. He replaced Jay Bhatt who had been the CEO since 2012. Ballhaus pushed SRA into data analytics, cloud computing and cybersecurity, and he ran the government contractor DynCorp International before heading up SRA.
2U President Rob Cohen to Retire
In early January, D.C.-based company 2U also had a slight shake-up of its own. Rob Cohen, the company's president and COO, announced plans to retire. He had been with the company since its founding in 2008. Former deputy secretary of education Jim Shelton replaced Cohen as president of the company.
Months After Promotion, 2U President Leaves for Zuckerberg Initiative
In May, only a few months after being named 2U's president, Shelton left the edtech mainstay to join the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, a philanthropic initiative founded by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, and lead its education efforts.
Interfolio Gets $12M to Expand Its Edtech Talent Software
D.C.-based Interfolio raised $12 million in January in its first institutional funding round, led by New York-based firm Quad Partners. Additional funding came from previous investors, such as NextGen Angels, Middeland Capital and Blu Venture. The company is headed up by Blackboard co-founder Andrew Rosen. The funding will help expand the Interfolio team and the company may move to a new office in the coming year.
DC-based Edtech Startup Full Measure Education Raises $6M
Full Measure raised another $6 million almost one year after raising a $5 million Series B round from Safeguard Scientifics. The funding was to be used to make product enhancements, scale existing partnerships and hiring in the sales and business development departments.
At the same time, Full Measure also welcomed two Blackboard veterans—James Rianhard and Tess Kelly-Frazier—to the team.
UVA Edtech Research Accelerator Scores $1.5M Grant
The University of Virginia's Jefferson Education Accelerator received a $1.5 million grant in April from the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation to continue research on how edtech is transforming education. JEA plans to create a universal database where the companies it chooses for partnership can apply the data they gather to the latest educational research methods.
Blackboard Is Now Working With Uber
It wouldn't be 2016 without another story on Uber and its partnerships, and that goes for its partnership with Blackboard. In April, Blackboard created its Blackboard Transact as a way to allow students to pay for rides. The program allows students to tap into a dedicated "specific use" purse that can be established by the institution, parents or the student.
Image used via CCO Public Domain — credit kaboompics
