US-based school curriculum and software provider LearnZillion has been bought by educational technology and course materials provider Weld North Education (WNE), enabling media group O’Reilly to exit.
Founded in 2011, LearnZillion provides schoolteachers with educational curricula composed of both digital and print-based materials in subjects including maths, art and English. They include software tools for compiling digital content, planning out lessons and collecting data on student performance.
The deal will augment WNE’s product range, which covers digital learning intervention, enhancement and assessment, adding the capacity for digital learning traditionally fulfilled by textbooks.
O’Reilly Alpha backed LearnZillion’s $2.4m seed round in 2012 through corporate venturing unit O’Reilly Alpha Tech Ventures (OATV) alongside DC Community Ventures, Learn Capital Venture Partners, NewSchools Venture Fund, Citybridge Foundation, ULU Ventures and Calvert Social Investment Fund.
Venture capital firm DCM then led a $7m series A round in 2013 backed by OATV, DC Community, NewSchools and Calvert Social. LearnZillion raised another $13m two years later, from investors including DCM, Owl Ventures, Omidyar Network and 10 unnamed additional investors.