AAA FreshGrade goes to Higher Ground

FreshGrade goes to Higher Ground

Montessori school network Higher Ground Education has acquired Canada-based student portfolio platform developer FreshGrade for an undisclosed amount, facilitating an exit for Lego Ventures, the corporate venturing subsidiary of toymaker Lego.

Founded in 2011, FreshGrade has built an online student portfolio platform that enables parents and teachers to monitor the progress and grading of school students aged six to 18.

More than 18 million student portfolios have been created on the platform, which is used by 85,000 teachers and 1.8 million parents. Lego Ventures made an investment of undisclosed size in FreshGrade in February 2020.

FreshGrade raised $11.6m in a 2016 series A round led by Relay Ventures that also featured Reach Capital, Accel and Emerson Collective, all three having joined Social Capital and NewSchools Venture Fund in the company’s $4.3m seed round two years earlier.

Higher Ground financed the acquisition through a $30m series D round led by education-focused venture capital firm Learn Capital.