GoGuardian, an EdTech company backed by Tiger Global, raises $200 million in funding. As a result of a recent round of investment by Tiger Global, GoGuardian, which builds software used in over 10K schools in the US and by over 22M students, has raised $200M at a valuation exceeding $1B.
In another sign of private equity’s bet that the boom in classroom technology will outlive the pandemic, Tiger Global Management has pledged $200 million to GoGuardian, a company that sells software to K-12 schools. This is the latest sign that private equity is betting the boom will outdate the pandemic.
Tiger Global Plows $200 Million Towards EdTech Firm GoGuardian
GoGuardian, which is funded by Sumeru Equity Partners LP, is now valued at more than $1 billion as a result of this investment. The Los Angeles-based startup began in 2014 with the goal of offering schools a Chrome tool that allowed them to monitor and filter internet browsing by their students. During the pandemic, GoGuardian experienced a surge in interest as schools struggled to cope with the challenges of virtual learning, and the company saw an explosion in interest as well.
Tiger Global Management, a leader in the field of education technology, announced today that it has made a strategic investment of $200 million in GoGuardian as part of its commitment to help K-12 schools and teachers maximize the learning potential of each student. As a result of this raise, GoGuardian’s market value has risen well over $1 billion, and the company is poised to accelerate its mission to provide schools around the world with more effective, safe, and productive digital learning experiences.
With the advent of digital devices, GoGuardian was founded in 2014 at a time when these devices were becoming an increasingly integral part of the student experience. We are rooted in the belief that education is the single most powerful tool for improving society that exists. As part of its innovative portfolio, GoGuardian has expanded to include award-winning and widely adopted online learning solutions, which have been proven to be effective in enhancing classroom management, engagement, assessment, and the safety of students.
In spite of the rise in digital learning, GoGuardian’s growth is driven by the increase in demand for effective and flexible learning tools that can be used at all levels of education from in-class instruction to remote instruction to hybrid instruction. GoGuardian’s customer base has grown 60% in the last year alone, reaching more than 10,000 schools, including 23 of the top 25 districts in the country in terms of number of students. In the U.S. alone, more than 22 million elementary and secondary school students – one in three students – are now able to take part in the GoGuardian learner journey via GoGuardian technology.
Advait Shinde, co-founder and CEO of GoGuardian, was quoted in a recent article as saying, “From the beginning, we knew that technology could have a profound impact on the way the education system functions and be used to support the invaluable efforts of teachers, schools, and districts”, According to Shinde. In light of our successes so far, we are more determined than ever before to pursue our mission with more passion and ambition than ever before, and Tiger Global’s investment will provide us with a much greater impact in creating an empowered and inspired workforce in the future. It is our pleasure to work with them and we look forward to the work ahead.”
Building the future of education through the use of digital technology
By offering a growing platform of solutions which empower students, deliver insights, encourage experimentation, and reduce inequity, GoGuardian is poised to help improve educational outcomes around the world. With the additional capitalization from Tiger Global, this growth will be further accelerated, with a focus on product innovation, talent acquisition, and business development.
The team at GoGuardian and the positive comments we have received from its customers during our diligence process have impressed us tremendously, said John Curtius, a Partner at Tiger Global. In addition to the company’s industry-leading product offering and its best-in-class growth at scale, margins, and retention characteristics, we are delighted to be partnering with GoGuardian, as the company continues to cement its position as an end-to-end SaaS solution for K-12 schools.
With a record of scaling and investing significantly in the last year, GoGuardian has been expanding its employee base 60% over the past year, and aims to reach 1,000 employees by 2023, while at the same time meeting the dynamic needs of districts, teachers, and students. Among the significant milestones of the last year have been the acquisitions of Pear Deck and Edulastic, as well as the recent appointment of former Qualtrics and Microsoft executives Julie Larson-Green to the board of directors.
By investing in GoGuardian, Tiger Global will obtain a significant stake in the company through a close collaboration with Sumeru Equity Partners (Sumeru), a company that has supported the company since its inception in 2018.
In his words, Sumeru Co-Founder and Managing Director Sanjeet Mitra said, “GoGuardian reinvented the possibilities of digital learning and educational equity with an innovative and school-centric approach that has positively impacted millions of students.” In order to assist all students in reaching their fullest potential, GoGuardian is just getting started. Sumeru congratulates the team on achieving this amazing milestone and is delighted to be partnering with Tiger Global to help them achieve their goals.”
The investment was carried out as exclusivity placement agent by J.P. Morgan. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP was the legal counsel to GoGuardian on the deal.
