Author: IBL News

IBL News | New York

EdTech companies that have figured out how to scale and achieve the highest Return on Education (RoE) amid Covid uncertainty continue to experience extraordinary growth and traction, says investor at GSV Ventures, Alexandra Argo, in an article at Medium. Investment firm GSV is now preparing its 2022 ASU+GSV Summit, scheduled for April 4-6.

In parallel, the company has released its 2022 GSV EdTech 150 list, with a selection of transformative companies in digital learning backed by venture capitalists. This selection comes after an evaluation of 3,000 companies across the three major sectors: higher ed, K-12, and life-long learning, including here workforce and adult consumer learning.

GSV developed a scoring system with several KPIs: revenue scale, revenue growth, active learner reach, international reach, and margin profile.

“We estimate that the 150 companies reach ~3 billion people, or close to half of the global population, and generate approximately $20 billion in revenue, growing in the high double digits,” wrote Alexandra Argo.

The list included publicly listed digital learning companies Coursera, 2U, Grand Canyon Education, Kahoot, Docebo, Upwork, Afya, Arco.

A third of the companies, like BYJU’s and Course Hero, are experiencing strong Network Effects.

In two years, global VC investment in EdTech jumped 72% year-over-year to $21 billion in 2021, up from $7B in funding in 2019.

IBL News | New York

As the Omicron variant of COVID-19 spreads, colleges and universities now face the challenge of whether requiring booster shots and when to resume face-to-face learning. For college officials and millions of college students, these problems seem familiar. The pressing question is when to start the new semester, either the next few days or weeks.

Some institutions have already decided to start the first weeks of the semester virtually reinstating tough precaution measures.

The list includes Harvard University, Stanford University, Georgetown University, several of the University of California’s campuses, Michigan State University, Jackson State University in Mississippi, the University of Cincinnati, the Queen’s University of Charlotte, and the University of Hawaii’s campuses.

Regarding vaccination, most universities encouraged their students proof of inoculation.

Eight institutions in the University of California system that are operating remotely — Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, and Santa Cruz — extended virtual classes to late January. Stanford University, Duke University, and Seattle University have announced delaying a return to in-person classrooms, as well.

In a message to the campus community, the President of Seattle University, Eduardo M. Peñalver, explained that remote learning would be extended through January 30.

He summarized the dominant thinking in higher education:

“Current projections suggest that the Omicron-driven wave will continue to grow rapidly before cresting over the next few weeks. While early research continues to indicate that the variant is less severe and results in milder illness compared to earlier variants, especially among vaccinated people, there is still a great deal of uncertainty.”

That uncertainty is affecting admission offices and visitor centers, too. Virtual tours seem to be the new norm for now.

IBL News | New York

Angel Studios, the streaming platform behind the Christian series “The Chosen”, announced last week it had raised $47 million in funding from venture capitalists. The financing was led by VC firm Gigafund and Bain-backed Uncorrelated Venture.

Angel Studios, the streaming platform behind the Christian series “The Chosen”, announced this week it had raised $47 million in funding from venture capitalists. The financing was led by VC firm Gigafund and Bain-backed Uncorrelated Venture. Original seed investors Alta Ventures and Kickstart Fund also participated.

In addition to VC money, $5 million was crowdsourced directly from fans.

Angel Studios presented the financing injection as an effort “to bring control of the entertainment industry back to consumers and creators” and “give Hollywood a remake.”

“The round caps off a major comeback year for cofounders Neal and Jeffrey Harmon, who led Angel Studios to over $100 million in annual revenue just one year after Disney and Warner Bros tried to shut the studio down in court,” said the company.

Gigafund, known for being one of the largest investors in SpaceX, said through its Managing Partner, Stephen Oskoui, “Angel is on track to rewrite the rules of the media business and have a significant impact on culture.”

Today’s movie business is a $280-billion industry almost totally controlled by five major Hollywood studios. According to Angel Studios, Hollywood executives decide what content to produce, with little to no input from consumers. Almost 80% of the films fail to break.

“We are a community-driven movie studio that empowers audiences to decide what content gets produced and distributed while creating communities around each project. Creators pitch projects on the Angel platform, and “Angel investors” fund the ones they’re most excited to see (via the Angel Funding Portal).”

Under this model, three successful shows have been produced, including:

IBL News | New York

The World Bank and United Nations’ UNESCO and UNICEF estimate that school closures during the COVID-19 may result in a $17 trillion loss in lifetime earnings for students – an impact more severe than previously predicted.

“The pandemic brought education systems across the world to a halt,” said Jaime Saavedra, World Bank Global Director for Education. “The loss of learning that many children are experiencing is morally unacceptable,” he added.

The State of the Global Education Crisis: A Path to Recovery report — elaborated by the mentioned institutions — says the staggering loss represents 14% of the current GDP (Gross Domestic Product).

This loss takes into consideration the devastating impact on future productivity, earnings, and well-being for this generation of children, families, and the world’s economies.

In the report, countries like Brazil, Pakistan, India, South Africa, and Mexico detail substantial losses in maths and reading skills.

UNICEF and UNESCO suggest reopening schools as the solution. In addition, they recommend governments implement Learning Recovery Programs to ensure students attain competencies.

Reopening schools is the solution that UNICEF and UNESCO point out. In addition, they recommend governments implement Learning Recovery Programs to ensure students attain competencies.

IBL News | New York

U.S. colleges and universities are set to start the spring semester in the next few days as the COVID’s Omicron variant outbreaks continues.

Some institutions have already decided to offer the first weeks of the semester virtually. The list includes Harvard University, Stanford University, Georgetown University, several of the University of California’s campuses, Michigan State University, Jackson State University in Mississippi, the University of Cincinnati, the Queen’s University of Charlotte, and the University of Hawaii’s campuses.

Those offering an in-person start are rolling back past COVID-19 measures, such as mask requirements, vaccination campaigns, and coronavirus testing and screening.

Many institutions will require proof of vaccination for students if they want to attend classes in person. SUNY, Princeton University, Duke University, Oregon State University, and the University of New Mexico are requiring students to get their booster shots.

Some universities, such as Howard in Washington, D.C., and Tennessee State, are delaying the start of their semester but plan to hold in-person classes.

Some, including Louisiana State University, are allowing instructors to decide whether they go in-person or in some combination.

Others, such as Brown University, the University of California, Berkeley, and Pennsylvania State University plan to stick to their in-person opening plans.

However, universities, however, may change their plans as the semester draws closer.

What’s different from the past is that now going online is temporary. It means that a remote start might be followed up by a return to normal operations.

According to the College Crisis Initiative at Davidson College, nearly 90 percent of colleges and universities are permitting students back to campus.