Top 10 Edtech Unicorn startups in the United States

Globally, the education technology a.k.a edtech market in FY2020 is valued at approx USD 89.50 Billion. It is expected to grow with a compound growth rate of 19.9% (CAGR) annually, from 2021 to 2028.

The United States dominated the edtech market in 2020 and held more than 37% of the global revenue. The edtech startups in the USA were recorded to raise USD 2.2 Billion in 2020. As the startups in this sector grow and develop, the growth of the startups is expected to attract more investors.

In the United States (US), expenditures for education are over 6% of GDP, i.e, USD 1.2 Trillion. As same as the healthcare industry, the education market is majorly influenced by the government.

The United States (US), is the largest Edtech market globally, with nearly 1385 edtech companies that hold 43% stakes globally. The US is followed by India with 327edtech companies, as the sourced reports from CrunchBase.

There are many Edtech startups that have a valuation in billions and are listed as the unicorns of the Edtech market. In the US there are approximately 36 Edtech unicorns in the market i.e, companies having a valuation of more than USD 1 Billion.

In this article, we have gathered the Top 10 Edtech Unicron’s in the United States. The companies are ranked according to the total funding raised by them in 2021. The list is prepared in a reverted format, i.e. the 10th startup will be on top and vice-versa.

10. Quizlet

• Location: San Francisco, California, United States
• Founders: Andrew Sutherland, David Margulies
• Founded: October 2005
• Last funding raised: USD 30 Million in Series C
• Total Valuation: USD 1 Billion
• Lead Investors: General Atlantic, Icon Ventures, Costanoa Ventures, Union Square Ventures

Quizlet is an eLearning platform that uses games and activities to aid students master and practice what they’re learning. It intends to build great learning tools for every user on the earth. Over 20 million unique visitors are recorded per month, from grade to high school. The student’s study a wide range of subjects using  Quizlet’s web and mobile learning tools and games.

09. Newsela

• Location: New York, New York, United States
• Founders: Dan Cogan-Drew, Matthew Gross
• Founded: 2013
• Last funding raised: USD 100 Million in Series D
• Total Valuation: USD 1 Billion
• Lead Investors: Franklin Templeton Investments, TCP, WomenVCfund

Newsela is an Edtech startup that takes new and real content from trusted providers and converts it into learning materials. The startup has over 2.5million teachers and 37 million students who have registered with Newsela for content that’s tailored according to student interests, accessible to everyone and attached to activities and reporting that hold teachers responsible for instruction and students accountable for their work. With more than 14,000 texts on its platform and 10 new texts published every day for more than 20 genres.

08. Outschool

• Location: San Francisco, California, United States
• Founders: Amir Nathoo, Mikhail Seregine, Nick Grandy
• Founded: 2015
• Last funding raised: USD 75 Million in Series C
• Total Valuation: USD 1.3 Billion
• Lead Investors:  Coatue, Tiger Global Management, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Union Square Ventures, Reach Capital

Outschool creates a network of motivated learners, teachers and parents to create a markable learning experience. It aims to build the biggest and best global school by offering online classes which are unique from hundreds of independent teachers. The teachers in the Outschool may be certified teachers, scientists, artists or other adults with interest and expertise in teaching.7

07. Degreed

• Location: Pleasanton, California, United States
• Founders: David Blake
• Founded: March 2012
• Last funding raised: USD 153 Million in Series D
• Total Valuation: USD 1.4 Billion
• Lead Investors: Sapphire Ventures, Riverwood Capitals, AllianceBernstein, Owl Ventures

Degreed offers companies a platform that enables employees to build their skills and create skill profiles. Using the data and information, the platform can promote mobility in career by connecting users to projects, job opportunities, and gigs. It curates and integrates all the resources the people use to learn which includes learning management systems and millions of articles, books, podcasts, courses and videos.

06. Handshake

• Location: San Francisco, California, United States
• Founders: Ben Christensen, Garrett Lord, Scott Ringwelski
• Founded: 2013
• Last funding raised: USD 80 Million in Series E
• Total Valuation: USD 1.5 Billion
• Lead Investors: Lightspeed Venture Partners, Spark Capital, GGV Capital, EQT Capitals, Kleiner Perkins

Handshake is a career network for colleges that helps recent graduates and students to find their next opportunity. The company’s network gives users access to more insights and career opportunities. It also offers employees with more comprehensive and efficient access to talent and gives colleges more different tools to drive student engagement and increase student employment.

05. Kajabi

• Location: Irvine, California, United States
• Founders: Kenny Rueter
• Founded: October 2009
• Last funding raised: USD 550 Million VC/PE round
• Total Valuation: USD 2 Billion
• Lead Investors:  Tiger Global Management, Spectrum Equity

Kajabi is a knowledge commerce platform that aids people package and sell their knowledge about any subject matter to others. It is bootstrapped and profitable. Since its foundation in 2010, it has collectively made more than USD 600 million selling online courses for every course.

04. Masterclass

• Location: San Francisco, California, United States
• Founders: Aaron Rasmussen, David Rogier
• Founded: 2012
• Last funding raised: USD 225 Million in Series F
• Total Valuation: USD 2.7 Million
• Lead Investors: Fidelity Management and Research Company, IVP (Institutional Venture Partners), Akkadian Ventures, New Enterprise Associates

MasterClass is a streaming platform where one can learn anything from instructors all over the world. It provides annual membership, so subscribers get unlimited access to 100+ instructors and classes across a wide range of subjects, including Business, Design & Style, Arts & Entertainment, Writing, Sports & Gaming and more. Step into KellyWearstler’s design studio,  Neil Gaiman’s writing retreat, and Ron Finley’s garden. Each class features about 20 video lessons, at an average of 10 minutes per lesson. You can learn on your own terms—in bite-size pieces or in a single binge. Cinematic visuals and close-up, hands-on demonstrations make you feel like you’re one-on-one with the instructors, while the downloadable instructor guides help reinforce your learning. Stream thousands of lessons anywhere, anytime, on a mobile, tablet, desktop, Apple TV®, Android™ TV, Amazon Fire TV® and Roku players and devices.

03. Age of Learning

• Location: Glendale, California, United States
• Founders: Doug Dohring
• Founded: Feb 2007
• Last funding raised: USD 300 Million
• Total Valuation:   USD 3 Billion 
• Lead Investors: ICONIQ Capital, TGP, Tencent

Age of Learning, is a leading education technology innovator, creating engaging and effective learning resources to help children build a strong foundation for academic success. Based in Los Angeles, the company is Bringing Learning to Life by blending educational expertise, innovative technology, and insightful creativity. Age of Learning’s flagship product in the U.S., ABCmouse.com Early Learning Academy, is a comprehensive curriculum for preschool through second grade, available on all major digital platforms. 

02. Udemy

• Location: San Francisco, California, United States
• Founder: Eren Bali
• Founded: 2009
• Last funding raised:  Series F Top-up
• Total Valuation: USD 3.3 Billion
• Lead Investors: Tencent, Mind rock Capital, SharesPost Investment Management, Benesse, Manhattan Venture Partners

Udemy has a mission to improve lives through learning. Udemy is the world’s largest online learning destination that helps students, governments and businesses to gain the skills they need to compete in today’s economy. Nearly forty million students are mastering new skills from approximately 70,000 expert instructors teaching over 155,000 online courses in topics. For companies, Udemy for Business provides employee training and development with subscription access to 8,500+ courses, learning analytics, and the ability to host and distribute their own content. 80 per cent of Fortune 100 companies trust Udemy for employee upskilling. Udemy is privately held and headquartered in San Francisco with offices in Denver, Brazil, India, Ireland, and Turkey.

01.  Articulate

• Location: New York, United States
• Founder: Adam Schwartz
• Founded: 2002
• Last funding raised: USD 1.5 BIllion in Series A
• Total Valuation: USD 3.75 Billion
• Lead Investors: General Atlantic

Articulate builds e-learning software, content, and community that offers online training courses. The company’s more than 40k customers worldwide include 93 per cent of Fortune 100 companies, 19 of the 20 top-ranked U.S. universities, and organizations. By aiming at customers, Articulate has gained the trust of more than half a million e-learning professionals, creating the largest following in the industry.

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