article thumbnail

A Technologist Spent Years Building an AI Chatbot Tutor. He Decided It Can’t Be Done.

Edsurge

Instead, he co-founded a new AI company, called Merlyn Mind, that is building other types of AI-powered tools for educators. Meanwhile, plenty of companies and education leaders these days are hard at work chasing that dream of building AI tutors. The assets of Knewton were quietly sold off a few years later.) They’re tools.

Knewton 216
article thumbnail

Yes There’s ‘Disruption’ in College Market, But the Bigger Trend Is Growth of ‘Enabler’ Companies

Edsurge

Sure, there are aspects of the college world that seems worthy of disruption, and colleges face serious challenges: flat enrollment trends and demographic headwinds; appropriate concerns about debt levels and increasing costs; and growing numbers of struggling institutions.

Company 93
Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

The Business of 'Ed-Tech Trends'

Hack Education

This is part eleven of my annual look at the year’s “ top ed-tech stories ” In May, venture capitalist and former securities analyst Mary Meeker released her annual “Internet Trends” report. Among the major trends Meeker identified for 2017: mobile advertising, gaming, and healthcare. Manufacturing Trends.

Trends 56
article thumbnail

Pearson Bets on Adaptive Learning (Again) With $25M Acquisition of Smart Sparrow

Edsurge

The following year, Knewton was bought in a deal that has become a poster child for education technology hype. Already, the Sydney, Australia-based company has pulled back on its social media presence. In 2014, the Gates Foundation awarded the company a $4.5 One such provider, Acrobatiq, was acquired in 2018.

Pearson 101
article thumbnail

Tinkergarten Raises $5.4M to Get Kids to Go Outside, Play and Learn

Edsurge

For Brian Fitzgerald, what began as a newborn side project in 2012—when he was working at edtech startup Knewton—has become a fully-grown venture of its own. These activities may seem silly, perhaps even a tad frivolous, but the company claims they help build cognitive, physical, social and emotional skills. Yes, even the gnomes.)

Knewton 114
article thumbnail

What the Big Edtech Mergers and Acquisitions of 2019 Signal for the Industry

Edsurge

Fuller, who has covered the edtech industry for over a decade, recently shared her take on current trends on edtech mergers and acquisitions. On the lifelong learning and certification side, I would say Colibri Group [an online education company that serves licensed professionals], which bought Western Schools.

Industry 110
article thumbnail

Fewer Deals, More Money: U.S. Edtech Funding Rebounds With $1.2 Billion in 2017

Edsurge

So far this year, these companies raised over $1.2 These diverging patterns are reflected in the graph below, with the upward trend in funding total (green bars) and downward slope in dealflow (red lines). billion—does not account for companies whose primary product and service focus on student loan refinancing. Source: EdSurge.

EdTech 97