Class Technologies, a teaching and learning tools provider for K-12 school and higher education institutions, has raised $105 million in a new funding round led by SoftBank Group Corp’s Vision Fund 2.
Class Technologies provides classes for Zoom, which integrates the Class software on the Zoom Meetings platform to help teachers take attendance, hand out assignments, give a quiz or test, grade work, proctor exams, or talk one-on-one with students.
The startup was established in 2020 by education software pioneer and Blackboard co-founder Michael Chasen. He came up with the idea for Class Technologies a year ago after seeing his son and two daughters struggle with the transition to online learning during the pandemic and speaking with their teachers about the challenges they faced keeping students engaged.
Chasen started his first education software business over 20 years ago called Blackboard Inc. so was able to quickly get the company started with previous engineers he partnered with and big-name investors.
Commenting on the development, Michael Chasen, Founder and CEO of Class Technologies, has said, “I think what you can expect to see over the next 12 to 18 months there is going to be more advancement in EdTech than we’ve seen in the last five to 10 years.”
Chasen further added that even with public schools returning to in-person learning, many will still choose to keep using technology in some way to avoid being “caught flat-footed again if there’s another pandemic”.
He believes that the growing acceptance of online learning will ultimately help lower costs and increase access to education in the coming years.
In April this year, Class Technologies raised fresh capital as part of its $12 million funding round from Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady, veteran talent executive Guy Oseary, Salesforce Ventures, and venture capital firm Sound Ventures.
The company earlier claimed that since the launch of the platform, over 7,500 K-12 and higher education institutions, as well as global organizations, have expressed interest in using its program.
