The GSV Big 10: Make it Rain 💰
Chart of the week, a private club, and what was hiding in plain sight...
This Week’s People Moves
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Khushe Malde: T&E Ladder ➡️ Stealth (“Building something new in the education space!”), Founder
Aline Chaprazian: MIND Education ➡️ Lexia Learning, Demand Generation Manager
Sophia De Quattro: The Tech Interactive ➡️ Silicon Valley Education Foundation (SVEF), Corporate Partnerships Manager
Jay Galbraith: KIPP Massachusetts ➡️ Match Education, Managing Director of Academics
Rachel Devine, M.S.: ACT ➡️ Coursera, Senior Manager Customer Success
The Big 10:
2U files for bankruptcy | Higher Ed Dive
Headlines around Chapter 11 bankruptcy were meant to stun people who haven’t been paying attention. However, what’s more significant is 2U going private, which was enabled by the debt restructuring and importantly the recent SCOTUS decision to overturn Chevron. As we wrote last week, we think the Chevron decision is a major catalyst to attract investment capital into the educational ecosystem.
Instructure to be Acquired by KKR for $4.8 Billion | PR Newswire
Come on in, the water’s fine. On the heels of 2U’s take-private announcement, Instructure was taken off the public market by KKR for nearly $5 billion. The decision by SCOTUS to eliminate the potential for changing the rules every four years has made education infinitely more investable.
Paul Quinn receives $20M from anonymous donor, largest gift in college’s history | Dallas News
An anonymous donor made it rain for HBCU Paul Quinn College this week with a flood of $20 million. We couldn’t be happier for our friend, the truly inspirational and sensational President, Michael Sorrell. The school’s focus on learning and earning has created a differentiated model and huge impact.
Chart of the Week
Coursera’s stock was hiding in plain sight. With over 150 million learners on its platform, $700 million in growing revenue, and over $700 million in cash, having a market value of just over $1 billion seemed like we were missing something. BOOM! A slightly better than analyst-expected second quarter including generating $25 million of cash had shares trading up nearly 50% Friday. Something tells me the private equity activity in the education market last week unleashed by the Chevron decision may have had something to do with it as well. (Disclosure: GSV is a shareholder of COUR).
Republicans aim to take Florida's education model nationwide | Axios
Once the home of retirees, exiles, and people seeking slower lifestyles, the Sunshine State has become a magnet for people in search of brighter futures. We credit our friend Jeb Bush as the original architect of the Florida miracle, but pro-freedom policies and network effects are making the state an inexorable force. What’s apparently controversial is certainly popular among many, with values such as universal school choice, parental rights, and civics-focused education being part of the formula.
Announcing our Series A funding led by Salesforce Ventures | Uplimit
Congrats to GSV alum Julia Stiglitz on Uplimit’s successful $11 million Series A raise! Salesforce Ventures was the lead, and we were happy to participate in the round (and double down on our prior investment) alongside Greylock, Cowboy Ventures, and Workday Ventures. Uplimit facilitates AI-powered high-quality adult learning for enterprises. Onward and upward!
OPINION: Arkansas is having success solving teacher shortages, and other states should take notice | Hechinger Report
Sarah Huckabee Sanders has been a “WOW” in her position as a first-term Governor of Arkansas. The Natural State has become an unnatural leader on the national stage for its approach to teacher recruitment and retention. Aligning pay and performance is a natural law, like gravity. Particularly impressive is the impact driven by serving students from low-income communities.
With so few students in class, why aren’t public schools doing better? | New York Post
When people have options, they choose “better”. Data from 90% of the largest urban school districts shows rising spending and lower student-teacher ratios, but declining performance. By the way, lower student-teacher ratios were not done by design, but rather resulted from the schools maintaining their existing staff headcount even as students fled these districts.
‘Microschools’ could be the next big school choice push. Florida is on the cutting edge. | Politico
We view microschools as one of the most exciting areas in the world of school innovation (and we’re not alone, see the clip below for a flashback to our conversation with John Katzman in November on episode 2 of Ed on the Edge). Microschools have experienced macro growth; today there are roughly 95,000 of them in the US serving about 1.5 million children. Florida defends its leading position on school alternatives and transformation.
As Kamala Harris ascends to Democratic presidential frontrunner, get to know her education record | Chalkbeat
Presumptive Democrat Presidential nominee Kamila Harris has an active track record on education policy. Showing her priorities, Vice President Harris was in Houston last week as a keynote for the American Federation of Teachers. Harris is in favor of increasing teacher salaries, making two-year college education free, and eliminating debt for four-year degrees. Additionally, she is for free Universal Pre-K, an increase of Title 1 funding, and as Attorney General of California, she aggressively prosecuted for-profit school Corinthian College for fraud.
Week in Edtech 7/19/2024 | Edtech Insiders Podcast
GSV’s own (and new Partner)
is a guest host for the Edtech Insiders podcast. Listen to her interview with Axio.ai CEO Mark Naufel about the future of learning and artificial intelligence. The new era is about personalized learning at the speed of light.
