DreamBox Learning secures 30M investment — and Arne Duncan
DreamBox Learning, the adaptive K-8 math education platform, has secured a $130 million investment from the venture capital firm The Rise Fund, the companies announced Tuesday.
In exchange for the investment, The Rise Fund will take a majority stake in DreamBox, and Arne Duncan, former secretary of the U.S. Department of Education under President Barack Obama, will join DreamBox’s board of directors. Duncan is also senior education advisor to The Rise Fund.
It’s the largest education investment to date for The Rise Fund, which is managed by TPG Growth.
“DreamBox was founded with the mission to transform the way the world learns by using intelligent adaptive technology to dynamically and continuously personalize each student’s learning experience,” said Jessie Woolley-Wilson, DreamBox president and CEO. “As a company, we have been committed to unlocking the learning potential of every child regardless of what ZIP code they live in, what they look like, or what language they speak. By joining forces with The Rise Fund, DreamBox gains a partner whose mission of social impact is perfectly aligned with ours.”
DreamBox is used by nearly 3 million students and 120,000 teachers in the U.S. and Canada, according to the edtech company. It also recently launched a Spanish-language version of the platform, which is already being used in Mexico.
The term “adaptive learning” usually applies to digital technology that modifies the presentation of material to a student based on how the student is performing.
“We know that education technology helps students and supports teachers,” Duncan said in a statement. “Providing more effective tools for teachers that drive student learning gains is a win-win for our schools.”
