Prisms VR, a learning platform pioneering a new paradigm for math education, has raised $12.5 million in a Series A round from Andreessen Horowitz to accelerate math literacy throughout the US.
Prisms was founded in 2021 by Anurupa Ganguly to bring problem-driven, tactile, and visual learning to the math classroom and is the first educational technology platform to leverage virtual reality (VR) to accelerate math proficiencies in US schools.
Already adopted by 100+ school districts across 26 states, Prisms is bringing meaningful, purpose-driven math teaching and learning to more than 80,000 students in districts large and small. From rural to large cities, students are being given the opportunity to learn abstract concepts they typically memorize, through tactile real-world experiences that are at once inspiring and effective.
Speaking about the company, Anurupa Ganguly, Founder & CEO at Prisms, said,
Technology has failed our students, especially where math is concerned. With new developments in immersive tech, we have the opportunity to make learning experiential and connected to students’ lives. Prisms is the first learning solution that empowers students to experience real-life problems with their bodies versus reading about them divorced from personal experience. They are then able to build up to shorthand abstractions from intuitive visual and tactile experiences that lead to enduring retention and deeper understanding.
“Though education is VR’s most powerful use case, we haven’t seen disruptive VR learning tools transforming formal classroom settings, until now. Math education is going to be the killer app for VR,” continued Ganguly.
Prisms plans to use the funds to accelerate the growth and adoption of its product and team. The company also plans to expand its programs to more schools across the US and product development in higher education and other subjects.
Jeff Jordan, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, said,
Educational technology that is efficacious at scale is hard to find. We believe that Anurupa and her team have pioneered a novel approach – one that is able to leverage VR technology to teach students the way they learn best. We’re excited to be a partner as Prisms not only continues to make a massive impact on students across the country but also paves the way for the future of education.
Prisms’ VR math content module is available to parents, tutors, and teachers with a 7-day free trial via the Meta Quest store and $24 via an annual subscription model.
The company last raised $4.25 million in its seed round led by A16z (Andreessen Horowitz) in June last year.
