Curriculum Associates, a leading education technology company, has recently announced the acquisition of SoapBox Labs, a global leader in voice AI, powering equity-driven learning experiences for students. Curriculum Associates and SoapBox Labs’ acquisition shares a commitment to using AI technologies to power equity and inclusivity, accessibility, and data privacy in the classroom for educators and their students.
SoapBox’s first-of-its-kind, equity-based voice engine caters to the unique speech patterns of children, powering Grades K–12 tools—including classroom-focused learning and assessment products, apps, and platforms—to support early literacy, reading fluency, language learning, and more. The SoapBox voice engine generates immediate and granular insights for educators, giving them an invaluable resource—more time to target and personalize their instruction to meet student needs.
Since its inception in 2013, the company’s proprietary voice engine has been designed from the ground up to provide accurate and equitable voice experiences for children ages two and up of all accents, dialects, and developmental stages.
Speaking on the deal, Rob Waldron, CEO of Curriculum Associates, said:
Curriculum Associates and SoapBox Labs share a commitment to improving student outcomes by expanding access to high-quality instructional materials and innovative technologies. This groundbreaking partnership will bring state-of-the-art voice technology to more classrooms, helping to ensure every learner is set up for success. It will also deepen and expand an asset-based, inclusive approach to learning across our entire product line.
Curriculum Associates has supported teachers and students in the classroom for over 50 years. The company provides a comprehensive suite of educational programmes, including its flagship i-Ready® product, which makes differentiated instruction a practical reality for educators in grades K-12. The company will bring new and innovative supports to how children learn to read, multilingual learners build oral vocabulary, teachers monitor progress and provide feedback, and classrooms can better engage in all forms of discourse by incorporating speech recognition technology into its assessment and instructional programmes.
Dr. Patricia Scanlon, founder of SoapBox and Ireland’s AI Ambassador, stated of the collaboration:
From the start, SoapBox has been on a mission to build voice technology that powers equitable, engaging, and frictionless digital learning experiences for all kids, regardless of age, accent, or dialect. This partnership with CA will allow us to fulfil this mission for even more young students and their teachers.
Four passionate educators founded Curriculum Associates with the aim of improving classrooms for both teachers and students. Since then, the platform has worked with educators to create instructional and diagnostic solutions such as iReady, which help every learner grow to their personal best.
