Startup Trends: Back to school, back to growth with edtech’s momentum

As the school year kicks off across the U.S., the back-to-school season isn’t just buzzing in classrooms—it’s reigniting interest in the private education technology sector. From early learning to workforce reskilling, education-focused startups are drawing investor attention.

Here are some of the five standout companies leading the edtech sector with the highest post-money valuations per their latest funding rounds.

MasterClass, star power meets scalable education

San Francisco-based MasterClass delivers cinematic, celebrity-led lessons across disciplines like cooking, writing, science and leadership. Founded in 2015, it has differentiated itself with premium production quality and partnerships with icons such as Serena Williams, Martin Scorsese and Malala Yousafzai. Williams is also an investor in the company.¹

The private edtech company has been beefing up its star power and its course offerings in recent months. Actress and writer Mindy Kaling offers trade secrets on comedy, theatre and film in a new class.² In April, Masterclass launched a course on sports wagering with big-named analysts such as ESPN’s Joe Fortenbaugh and Audacy’s BetQL network host Nick Kostos.³

Founded in 2012, Masterclass’ latest price per share was $31.88 as of its Series F funding round in May of 2021. Its notable investors include Fidelity, Owl Ventures, Advancit Capital and Y Combinator.

Outschool, K-12 customization in the cloud

San Francisco-based Outschool delivers live, online classes and tutoring for young learners, offering everything from traditional academic subjects to unique courses like Dungeons & Dragons math or marine biology. The company became a staple of pandemic-era learning and has since carved out a niche in the growing homeschooling and supplemental education markets.

The edtech company has formed partnerships to expand its personalized educational experiences across a broader market. In June of this year, Outschool established a partnership with a new accredited private school, OpenEd Academy. The initiative aims to bring interest-based and tutoring sessions to thousands of families.⁴

Over the summer, Outschool and virtual schooling platform Sora Schools joined in an initiative to provide summer learning programs, further expanding its awareness within the sector.⁵

Founded in 2015, Outschool’s latest price per share was $73.18 as of its latest Series D funding round in October of 2021. Its post-money valuation was $3 billion at the time. The company’s notable investors include Tiger Global Management, Lightspeed Ventures, Reach Capital and FundersClub.

Guild Education, bridging employers and learners

Denver-based Guild Education provides a platform to help working adults access career-aligned learning opportunities through their employers. By partnering with major corporations across the globe, Guild enables employees to pursue degrees and certifications from accredited institutions, often at no cost to them.

It was recently reported that national retailer Walgreens is utilizing Guild to prepare its workers for pharmacy school through its online college preparatory courses.⁶

National restaurant chain Chipotle recently partnered with Guild to upskill its workforce with customized management training courses that it credits for advancing thousands of its front-line employees into supervisory positions.⁷

Founded in 2015, Guild Education’s latest price per share was $7.74 as of its latest Series F funding round in June of 2022. This placed its post-money valuation at $4.40 billion. Notable investors of the firm include Wellington Management, Citigroup, Bessemer Venture Partners and Redpoint Ventures.

Learneo, tools for today’s learners and workers

Learneo is a provider of an online digital library of course-specific questions and answers to help students and educators succeed. The company’s educational resources are often contributed by its users.

In 2023, Learneo enhanced its language and writing tools through the acquisition of German-based LanguageTool, allowing learners access to creative and translation services in over 30 languages. The merger also increased Learneo’s access to international markets.⁸

In 2024, Redwood City, California-based Learneo was listed as one of Inc.’s 5,000 fastest-growing private companies in America.⁹

Founded in 2006, the edtech company’s latest price per share was $36.28 as of its latest funding round in December 2021. Its post-money valuation at the time was $3.6 billion. Learneo’s notable investors include Sequoia Capital, Wellington Management, Goldman Sachs and 137 Ventures.

Age of Learning, the foundation of early edtech

Glendale, California-based Age of Learning is a long-time leader in early childhood education. The company develops engaging, effective digital learning technology and content to help children build a strong academic foundation. The company’s app ABCmouse is often cited as one of the best educational apps for toddlers.¹⁰

Since its founding, the firm has been growing its product offerings. These latest course offerings include Early Learning Academy, My Math Academy and My Reading Academy.¹¹

In 2024, Age of Learning was named one of Time’s top edtech companies of the year.

Founded in 2007, the private company’s latest price per share was $10.80 as of its Series C funding round in June of 2021. This placed its post-money valuation at $3.09 billion at the time. Age of Learning’s notable investors include Tencent, Iconiq Capital, Angel Capital Management and TPG.