NYU Steinhardt Edtech Accelerator Powered By StartEd(R) Announces 2016 Cohort of Edtech Startups

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Dec 07, 2016, 09:50 ET


New York (PRWEB) December 07, 2016 -- The NYU Steinhardt Edtech Accelerator powered by StartEd announced today the startups accepted into its 2016 immersive three-month, mentor-led program in New York City. The program is dedicated to education entrepreneurship and designed to help edtech entrepreneurs grow their companies.

These companies address a range of challenges and market opportunities in early learning, K-12, higher education, career development, and lifelong learning. Chosen from over 400 applicants from around the world, each of the selected companies will work out of the NYU Steinhardt Edtech Incubator near Washington Square Park from October through December. They meet with world renowned experts and luminaries in education, technology, and startups.

The StartEd 2016 cohort is:

The world's first artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot for university admissions

An enterprise platform for alumni offices

Augmented Reality curriculum to bring learning to life

The Data Analytics platform for scientific research

All-in-one information system for child care providers

Scientifically based early reading curriculum combining fluency and kinesthetics

A global language learning exchange

A social portfolio tool for the next generation transcript

Help students plan, prepare for and pass board exams in the healthcare industry

In order to sort through the 430 applicants from around the globe, StartEd established a rock-star investment selection committee made up of edtech VCs, CEOs, angel investors, and NYU Steinhardt professors. The group focused on the “4 Ps” -- quality of the People, importance of the Problem, efficacy of the Product, and Progress made to date. Each selected company has a unique profile. All already have achieved some level of financing, product offering, or revenues.

“The technologies and solutions in our 2016 cohort are helping lay the foundations of the future of education,” said Ashantha Kaluarachchi, one of StartEd’s Managing Directors. These companies will build on edtech’s position as a truly global marketplace and change the way people learn, teach and use technology. And we’re happy to help them grow and make their contributions to the education and tech communities.”

“The Edtech Accelerator provides our whole community with a fantastic opportunity to witness up close and contribute to how start up businesses are launched in the education space. It's also a great way for our students and faculty to interact directly with the industry, and take part in exciting, entrepreneurial ventures,” said Alex Ruthmann, associate professor of music education and technology and director of the NYU Music Experience Design Lab at NYU Steinhardt, as well as a member of the selection committee for the accelerator.

StartEd provides access to the industry's largest and most influential network of more than 150 experienced leaders in the education and technology fields. Mentors and advisors include CEOs and founders of the most successful education companies, edtech venture capitalists and angel investors, leaders of the largest educational publishers, technology enablers and functional specialists from the largest technology giants, and academics and education policy experts, among many others.

The accelerator is designed to help entrepreneurs dramatically accelerate their business. The program culminates during NY Edtech Week (nyedtechweek.com/) -- the global education innovation festival -- December 19-21 at NYU where the founders of each startup in the cohort will have three minutes to pitch in a “Shark Tank” style presentation.

“StartEd will continue to energize and enhance the education technology community and drive economic development and innovation,” said Jonathan Harber of StartEd. “New York is already of hub of education and enterprise and our accelerator and the NY Edtech Week events are a vibrant part of that ecosystem.”

StartEd’s managing directors are:

  • Jeanne Allen, founder and CEO at The Center for Education Reform and nationally recognized as the most accomplished, pioneering visionary in education reform.
  • Jonathan D. Harber, the renowned entrepreneur behind Schoolnet ®, Inc., one of the most successful edtech companies of the last decade and former Pearson CEO of K12 Technology.
  • Ash Kaluarachchi, Former founder or executive of multiple accelerators including the Kaplan Edtech Accelerator powered by Techstars and EDGE Edtech.
  • Doug Lynch, a Senior Fellow at the University of Southern California and Chief Learning Officer at Cognotion.

About StartEd:
By galvanizing an eco-system of education innovation in New York City, StartEd aims to accelerate edtech entrepreneurs to tackle to world's greatest education problems. StartEd runs an edtech accelerator, a 3-month intensive bootcamp for early stage edtech companies, a co-working facility for the edtech community, classes on edtech, and the NY Edtech Week festival at NYU. For more information please visit: startedaccelerator.com/

About the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development (@nyusteinhardt):
Located in the heart of Greenwich Village, NYU’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development prepares students for careers in the arts, education, health, media, and psychology. Since its founding in 1890, the Steinhardt School's mission has been to expand human capacity through public service, global collaboration, research, scholarship, and practice. To learn more about NYU Steinhardt, visit steinhardt.nyu.edu.

Alyssa Miller, [email protected], http://www.edgeedtech.com, +1 (973) 615-1292, [email protected]