Zen Educate Funding Round Raises $37M for Scaling EdTech Software
EdTech startup, Zen Educate has raised $37 million in a series B funding round. According to EU-Startups, the Zen Educate funding round is the largest in EU EdTech this year.
Led by Round2 Capital, this round of funding enlisted the support of investors who are already supporting the startup. These include Brighteye Ventures, Ascension Ventures, Adjuvo, and leading angel investors.
At the same time, Zen Educate has announced the acquisition of Aquinas Education, a teacher staffing agency. Both Zen Educate series B funding and the Aquinas Education acquisition place the EduTech startup squarely on the growth path. Zen Educate currently operates in 11 regions within the UK and 5 states in the US.
Zen Educate Teacher Shortage Crisis Solution
Founded in 2017, Zen Educate focuses on solving the teacher shortage problem in the UK and US. The company uses technology to connect teachers with schools. Just recently, research showed an imbalance between teacher demand and supply. According to the ADP Research Institute, demand for teachers in the US outweighs supply.
Zen Educate digitizes teacher recruitment by providing a digital platform where schools and teachers create profiles. The tech startup uses experience, skills, and proximity data to match the two parties according to their compatibility automatically.
“Zen Educate has been successful in solving a significant challenge faced by educational facilities on a daily basis. The team’s deep understanding of the EdTech landscape is evident,” Round2 Capital CEO and C-Founder, Christian Czernich said.
Through the Zen Educate platforms, schools hire full-time teachers. Teachers use the platform to find part-time teaching jobs that suit them.
Zen Educate CEO and Co-Founder, Slava Kremerman said, “Educators are looking for greater flexibility in their work, and thus, there is a greater need for flexible working solutions in education like Zen Educate.”
In the last year, teachers have delivered over 2 million hours of education through the Zen Educate platform.
Scaling Up Through SaaS Products
The EdTech startup will be using the funds raised through the Zen Series B round of funding to expand operations in the US and UK. Part of this will involve completing various acquisitions. The company will also be scaling up its workforce management software to include SaaS products to enable schools to manage compliance, credentials, and absence better.
“We’ve been on a mission to solve schools’ workforce challenges. This investment brings us closer to our goal of helping the education system save over $100 million annually through our fairer, more efficient recruitment model. As we enter into the next phase of our journey, we aim to reach out to more educational institutions across the UK and US,” Kremerman added.
Zen Educate has demonstrated stable growth since its launch. Currently, the startup has a workforce of 300. In 2019, Zen Educate received the Standard in Recruitment (SiR) accreditation and has been featured on the Deloitte Fast 50 and FT 1000.
