DreamBox Learning has closed USD10 million in Series B funding. The round was led by Owl Ventures and includes investment from Tao Capital Partners.
The company also announced the addition of Tory Patterson (pictured), co-founder and managing partner of Owl Ventures, to its Board of Directors. Patterson currently serves on the board of directors of other prominent EdTech companies including Newsela, MasteryConnect, and LearnZillion. Patterson joins an impressive group of current DreamBox Learning Board of Directors, which includes: Reed Hastings, Co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Netflix; Kevin Hall, CEO and President of the Charter School Growth Fund; Paul Holland, General Partner of Foundation Capital; and Jessie Woolley-Wilson, President, CEO and Board Chair.
“I am honoured to join the DreamBox Learning board and be part of this promising and innovative company that is already supporting nearly 1.5 million active students, more than 75,000 K-8 teachers, and is delivering more than 1 million math lessons daily,” says Patterson. “We are excited about education technology companies that demonstrate tangible and measurable learning outcomes and broad market appeal. DreamBox delivers an engaging learning experience that students truly love. We are proud to be a part of this exciting journey with DreamBox to expand learning opportunities for all students.”
DreamBox Learning will use the new funds to develop the next generation of its pioneering intelligent adaptive platform, which captures more than 50,000 data points per student per hour to personalise instruction and help students develop a conceptual understanding of mathematics. In addition, the funds will be used to accelerate product innovations that will enrich the Educator Experience by providing teachers and district administrators powerful insights from real-time student performance data. DreamBox Learning will also expand its content offering, including additional lessons, enhancements to its engagement framework and additional reporting capabilities for districts and states.
“DreamBox’s belief that teachers should remain at the centre of learning is critical, and as a teacher, I am inspired by what they are doing to support educators in blended learning environments,” said Regan Pritzker of Tao Capital. “DreamBox prepares educators to fully harness smart data and support better learning outcomes and opportunities for students. We remain encouraged by what can be achieved for students when teachers leverage powerful learning innovations that engage students while personalising learning. We believe DreamBox Learning is a best of breed learning design.”
“We are honoured to welcome Owl Ventures and Tao Capital Partners to our family. We share the belief that all students deserve an engaging, personalised and effective learning experience, regardless of the zip code in which they live,” says Jessie Woolley-Wilson, president and CEO of DreamBox Learning. “With this investment, our future remains bright as we continue our important work to reimagine and reshape the future of learning.”
Since 2011, DreamBox Learning has experienced significant growth by consistently doubling the number of student users year-over-year, currently serving nearly 1.5 million active student users. In the 2014-15 school year, the company delivered more than 150 million math lessons to students grades K-8 in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Canada. DreamBox Learning continues to meet the needs of additional groups of learners, including the recent addition of middle school curriculum and culturally appropriate Spanish-language content to support English Language Learners on laptops, desktops and iPads in the past year.
