Report: Pearson is Committing $50 Million To Fund Next-Gen Edtech Startups

From TechCrunch:

Pearson,  the British education conglomerate, has set aside $50 million to participate in Series A and Series B financings for education startups, including boot camps, next-gen assessment and credentialing platforms, learning tools and augmented reality technology.

“Because education will look very different in 2030, Pearson, like learners all over the world, will need to continue to learn, adapt and reinvent itself: finding new business models, incorporating emerging technologies into its products and services, and finding new ways to collaborate with education institutions, government, and businesses,” the company wrote in a statement announcing Pearson Ventures.

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From Business Insider:

In an interview with Business Insider, investments director Owen Henkel explained the fund is taking a passive approach to portfolio management: Pearson Ventures won’t lead any rounds in any companies, and will instead rely on co-investing with strategic partners. Pearson won’t take board seats at its portfolio companies, nor is it interested in acquiring any of them down the line.

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Henkel points to coding bootcamps as an emerging trend that Pearson is tracking. He says he sees current iterations of coding bootcamps as an initial version of an exciting business model — the coding training bootcamps offer is not new, he says, but the business model for learning highly technical skills is.

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The fund will invest between $1.5 million and $5 million in each startup, and will focus on companies that serve its core markets: the US, the UK, Brazil, South Africa, India and China. Pearson Ventures will also inherit a position in the six portfolio companies currently funded through the existing Pearson Affordable Learning Fund.

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on a Related Note…

Informa Launches Venture Capital Fund, Informa Ventures
Informa is the parent of Taylor & Francis and many other information/date related companies. 

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