Digital Education Company Numerade Raises $26M for AI

As technology developers continue improving artificial intelligence for a variety of applications, they continue drawing interest from venture capitalists. The global AI market could grow by 40 percent before 2028, according to a June report from Grand View Research, and some of that growth will be in the education technology sector, as AI touches a range of services from grading to content management.

One of the latest companies to capitalize on this trend in the ed-tech space, the Los Angeles-based Numerade has announced $26 million in fundraising that it will put toward an AI-based tutor and video lessons. Lead investors included IDG Capital, Alumni Ventures Group, Interplay Ventures, General Catalyst, Mucker Capital and Kapor Capital.

According to a news release in July, Numerade intends to further develop its library of video lessons from highly rated professors, along with its proprietary tutoring program that uses AI to suggest lessons and quizzes. The company said 20 million students worldwide have used its services to brush up on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) courses, ranging in difficulty from K-12 material to post-secondary quantum mechanics.

Numerade CEO and co-founder Nhon Ma said the project additionally aims to tackle inequities in education by giving students from all socioeconomic backgrounds access to quality instruction, which could help to bring underrepresented students into STEM careers later in life.

"This funding will allow Numerade to reach millions more students and provide personalized asynchronous lessons and experiences that provide parity to learning. Because Numerade can provide educators from world-class institutions, we democratize access to top-tier quality education at 1/10,000 the cost,” he said in a public statement.