Singapore-based Emeritus.org announced this week the acquisition of ID Tech, an American leading summer camp company specialized in youth STEM education, for $200 million. The transaction — which was made through Emeritus' parent company Eruditus — marks Emeritus' expansion into K12 STEM education. Based in Campbell, California, ID Tech will operate independently. STEM career opportunities are projected to grow exponentially, with an estimated 3.5 million jobs in the U.S. alone that need to be filled by 2025. Emeritus hosts over 200 short courses, online degree programs, boot camps, and CXO programs offered in collaboration with 50 top universities. The main skills taught are related to AR/VR, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, software engineering, design thinking, and leadership to professionals. "We believe that proficiency and mastery of skills should begin in K12, and that iD Tech will be instrumental as we jointly pursue our goal of closing STEM skills gaps globally," said Ashwin Damera, Co-Founder and CEO at Emeritus.
MasterClass.com announced this week another round of financing of $225 million in series F. The funding was led by Fidelity Management & Research Company with participation from new investors including Baillie Gifford, Balyasny Asset Management, and Eldridge together with existing investors IVP, Javelin, NEA, and Owl Ventures. To date, the funding of Master Class has been $475 million. Last year's round was closed at $100 million on Series E. The San Francisco-based company said it will use the funding to increase content production, international expansion, and launch of new Enterprise business to serve both SMBs and large corporations. The startup also plans to open an office in easter Canada this year, and to expand its current workforce of 380 to over 500 in 2021. "MasterClass enables that, with our incredible roster of instructors, cinematic production capabilities, and singular focus on restoring the joy of learning," said David Rogier, founder, and CEO of MasterClass. MasterClass.com's courses feature 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," advertises the company.
The ASU+GSV Summit, which attracts EdTech top investors and entrepreneurs, announced this week its second annual GSV Cup Elite 200 competition for startups. It will be the world's largest pitch competition for EdTech Startups, according to the organization. They develop what GSV calls "Weapons of Mass Instruction." A total of 200 educational companies at the pre-seed and seed stage have been selected by a panel of 152 VCs and managers. Among those judges were investors from Accel, Alexa Fund, Brand Capital International, Bessemer Venture Partners, Founders Circle Capital, Owl Ventures, and Reach Capital. Over 700 applications were received. They will compete for $1 million in prizes while pitching at the ASU+GSV Summit live and in-person August 9-11, 2021 in San Diego, California. The prizes will consist of $550,000 in non-dilutive capital and $450,000 in Google Cloud credits. "As the world moves from a BC to AD reality — before coronavirus to after disease — we have arrived at the dawn of the age of digital learning," said Deborah Quazzo, managing partner of GSV Ventures [in the picture above].
Iona College, in New Rochelle, New York, announced this week it will finally acquire Concordia College's 28-acre campus in Bronxville, New York, where it will set a school of health sciences. Iona will also introduce new student programming in the performing arts, varsity, and club athletics. The price of the acquisition was not disclosed, nor how many former Concordia employees might be employed by Iona. Concordia will cease academic instruction before the fall semester of 2021. Founded in 1940 by the Congregation of Christian Brothers, Iona is a master's-granting private, Catholic institution with a total enrollment of nearly 4,000 students. It offers undergraduate degrees in liberal arts, science, and business administration, as well as Master of Arts, Master of Science, and Master of Business Administration degrees and numerous advanced certificate programs. The Princeton Review recognized Iona’s on-campus MBA program as a “Best Business School for 2020.” Iona College also recently launched a new, fully online MBA program.
Suny Online's Solar Energy Basics course on Coursera hit this month a milestone of 50,000-plus enrollments. Launched in 2019, the course is in the top 10 enrollments of SUNY courses on the Coursera platform, out of approximately 60 courses. The course, subtitled into eight languages, was developed by Dr. Neal Abrams, Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry with instructional design and technical support from the Open Academy. This class offers an introduction to the fundamentals of solar power as it applies to solar panel system installations. It teaches to compare solar energy to other energy resources and explains how solar panels, or photovoltaics (PV for short), convert sunlight to electricity. Solar Energy Basics is one of three courses on solar energy for Coursera developed by Abrams to provide learners with a foundation for designing photovoltaic systems. The second course, Solar Energy System Design was launched in the summer of 2020. The third one will launch this summer. Abrams has also been using these courses as part of a credit-bearing course this semester on the online Sustainability Management program, SUS 496- Solar Power: PV Design & Installation.
