Atom Learning, a London-based online learning platform for primary school children, announced that it has raised $25M funding in a Series A round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2.
Atom Learning bootstrapped itself since its launch in 2018 and is already profitable. This funding round is the largest Series A round ever secured by a British edtech startup, says the company in a press release.
Fund utilisation
The latest investment will allow the company to accelerate growth in the UK and double headcount over the next 12 months, bringing on board more teachers and technology professionals to its London office, remotely. Atom Learning will also expand into the US in 2022.
Jake O’Keefe, co-founder of Atom Learning, says, “We are delighted to partner with SoftBank as we scale in the UK and internationally. They’re a natural partner due to their ambition and their commitment to edtech in Europe and globally. Our mission is to provide all children wherever they are and whatever their background with an affordable, high-quality education. We are doing this by combining exceptional teacher-made content with industry-defining technology.”
Online learning platform
Founded by Alex Hatvany and Jake O’Keeffe, Atom Learning is an online platform for primary school children that combines high-quality content through AI technology.
The company’s AI technology predicts the probability a student has of answering a question correctly, allowing teachers and parents to structure lessons in a format where every topic and question is challenging and interactive for children.
The company is on a mission to reduce inequality in the education experience for families across the country by increasing standards across the education ecosystem.
Offering for parents and teachers
Atom Learning offers two products – Atom Prime for teachers and Atom Nucleus for parents of children between 7 and 11 years of age. The online platform is free and allows teachers to develop lesson plans and manage mixed-ability classes through adaptive learning.
Atom Nucleus is a fully automated alternative to private tuition that parents can access for their children through a monthly subscription.
To date, the company employs 100 education and technology professionals. Atom Prime is used by teachers in more than 500 primary schools.
Investor
SoftBank Vision Funds aims to accelerate the AI revolution through investments in market-leading, tech-enabled growth companies.
“The utilisation of edtech and adaptive learning within established curricula has accelerated rapidly both in school and the home”, said Yanni Pipilis, Managing Partner for SoftBank Investment Advisers.
“Atom’s proprietary technology enables each child to progress at their optimal learning pace, and provides parents and teachers with real-time feedback on areas of strength and development. We’re excited to partner with the team in its vision to improve learning outcomes for every student,” he added.
