- Education technology company Intellispark announced it has raised $2.3 million in a seed round of funding led by GSV Ventures
Education technology company Intellispark announced it has raised $2.3 million in a seed round of funding led by GSV Ventures. The company — which is focused on improving student success for PreK-12 schools — said that the funding will be used to accelerate the company’s product development, set the foundation for a scalable go-to-market plan, and round out the leadership team.
Launched in 2017, Intellispark has developed an innovative Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) product designed for helping PreK-12 schools support the whole child. Specifically, Intellispark makes it easy for districts and schools to check in with their students throughout the school year in order to understand and improve their success skills, career, and college readiness, sense of engagement, and connections with faculty and staff.
“At GSV Ventures, we invest in proven teams who are tackling important challenges. It is clear that Steve and Shaun, and the whole Intellispark team, are deeply passionate about helping districts and schools think differently about student success,” explained Deborah Quazzo, managing partner of GSV Ventures. “We are excited to lead the seed round for Intellispark. We are impressed by what they have accomplished in bringing the Intellispark platform to market and look forward to supporting their early growth.” GSV Ventures will join the company’s board of directors.
Intellispark integrates students’ daily academic performance and other key indicators to provide teachers with recommended research-based content they can incorporate into their existing classroom curriculum.
Last month, following two years of development and testing, the company announced the general availability of its first product. And a number of schools, including Oswego East High School (Illinois) and Hutchinson High School (Minnesota) served as design partners. At launch, Intellispark enables schools to integrate and elevate their social and emotional learning (SEL) initiatives. The future releases will support additional initiatives, including restorative justice and diversity, equity, and inclusion.
The company was co-founded by Stephen M. Smith and Shaun Fanning, who previously founded a leading college and career readiness platform now offered by Hobsons called Naviance. And the pair also co-authored Who Do You Think You Are? Three Critical Conversations for Coaching Teens to College & Career Success, published by John Wiley & Sons.
“For decades, schools have invested in technology systems, student survey tools, and data dashboards trying to move the needle on student success. With schools facing so much change and uncertainty, it is clear that supporting the whole child – not just academically, but holistically – is vital to student success,” said Smith. “At Intellispark, we believe that data are simply the start of a story, not the core of the story. We are devoted to empowering teachers and school counselors to foster a culture of student success where every student can be known, supported, and appreciated.”
