In The News

TechCrunch

Newsela, the replacement for textbooks, raises $100M and becomes a unicorn

Newsela, a SaaS platform for K-12 instructional material backed by the likes of TCV, Kleiner Perkins, Reach Capital and Owl Ventures, announced today that it has raised $100 million in a Series D round. The financing was led by new investor Franklin Templeton, and brings Newsela’s valuation to $1 billion. The new round is larger than the aggregate of Newsela’s prior capital raised to date.

“Hitting $1 billion [in valuation] doesn’t change a thing,” Newsela CEO Matthew Gross told TechCrunch. But the startup is joining Quizlet, ApplyBoard and CourseHero as companies within the sector that have hit the unicorn mark as remote education continues to gain traction. Read more.

Atlantic

When a Company Invests in an ‘Underdog City’

The country is full of “underdog cities”—communities and regions that are aware of losing out and having been overlooked. Some are in Appalachia, some in the Deep South, some around the Great Lakes, some in inland regions of otherwise-prospering states in the West. The imbalances in American opportunity—by race, by gender, by neighborhood and region, by class and economics—are of fundamental importance in the politics of the past generation, and in the prospects for renewal in the generation ahead. Read more.

PR Newswire

AnswersNow Expands Autism Tele-ABA Therapy To Help Individuals and Families Nationwide

RICHMOND, Va., Feb. 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- AnswersNow, the nation's leading telehealth provider with video service designed for Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) autism therapy, announced today it is expanding its services nationwide. The use of scientifically validated ABA therapy has shown significant improvements in IQ and socialization in children with autism. AnswersNow connects children with autism directly to a master's level board-certified behavior analyst to receive personalized ABA therapy treatment. Read more.

Fast Company

Bitwise Industries announces $50 million investment to grow tech apprenticeship program

Bitwise Industries, a startup that is creating tech ecosystems to increase economic opportunities in undervalued cities, just scored $50 million in series B financing led by Kapor Capital, with participation from JPMorgan Chase, Motley Fool Ventures, and ProMedica. Read more.