PR85318

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 1, 2020 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/--

-- With over $1.2 billion assets under management, Owl Ventures is the largest

venture capital firm in the world focused on the education technology sector

Owl Ventures, the largest venture capital fund in education technology,

announced today that it closed $585 million across two new funds. The Silicon

Valley and San Francisco based firm closed $415 million for its fourth fund and

$170 million for its first Opportunity Fund. The new funds will help fuel its

strategy of making early, growth and later stage investments in the world's

leading education technology companies across the education spectrum including

PreK-12, higher education and future of work (career mobility/professional

learning).

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1245365/Owl_Ventures_Logo.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1245366/Owl_Ventures_Team.jpg

Since its founding in 2014, the firm has been a major investor in many of the

fastest growing companies in the global EdTech market including U.S. companies

Accelerate Learning (acquired by Carlyle Group), Degreed, DreamBox Learning

(acquired by TPG Rise), Hazel Health, MasterClass, Newsela, Noodle Partners,

Quizlet, Remind and international companies such as BYJU's, Labster, Lele

Ketang, Sanjieke and WhiteHat Jr. (acquired by BYJU's).

"Since we began the firm, we have seen the digital revolution rapidly unfold in

education and workforce development," said Tory Patterson, Managing Director at

Owl Ventures. "Due to the shift to remote learning and work, we find ourselves

in a watershed moment for the over $6 trillion education and training market as

the rising digital penetration in the sector that had already been taking place

has surged."

"We are finding that our portfolio companies based in the U.S., China, Europe

and India are mission-critical elements to continued learning," said Ian Chiu,

Managing Director at Owl Ventures. "Inbound inquiries, user growth/engagement,

and customer pipelines have dramatically spiked across our portfolio with our

platforms being leveraged globally."

The success of Owl Ventures global investment strategy was recently highlighted

by two of its portfolio companies in India when BYJU's, the most valuable

privately held EdTech company in the world, acquired 18 month old start-up

WhiteHat Jr for $300 million.  Owl Ventures was the only fund that was an

investor in both companies.

"The meteoric growth of both Whitehat Jr and BYJU's is illustrative of the

rapidly growing and maturing EdTech market in India and throughout the world,"

said Amit Patel, Managing Director at Owl Ventures. "We seek to partner with

visionary entrepreneurs who are tackling large problems in education as well as

training and help them build transformative category leading companies."

Owl Ventures is the lead investor in the vast majority of its deals and

typically joins the board of each of its companies.  This hands-on approach

helps companies across numerous functions including distribution, partnerships,

talent, fundraising and outcomes measurement.  The firm has also helped foster

a robust community within the portfolio companies through CEO Summits and

industry specific events that allow fellow EdTech entrepreneurs to share best

practices, insights and explore partnership opportunities.  As an education

sector specialist, the fund has successfully partnered with leading diversified

venture capital and private equity funds to help accelerate the growth of its

portfolio companies.

Owl Ventures is backed by top global Limited Partners consisting of prestigious

college & university endowments, foundations, strategic education institutions,

sovereign wealth funds, and family offices from across the U.S., Asia, Europe,

Middle East, and South America.

"Our global LP base and network of education institutions and leaders is a

major competitive advantage as we have valuable partners throughout the world

that can uniquely help change the trajectory of our portfolio companies," said

Tom Costin, Managing Director at Owl Ventures.

About Owl Ventures

Owl Ventures is the largest venture capital fund in the world focused on the

education technology market with over $1.2 billion in assets under management.  

The Silicon Valley based firm invests in the world's leading education

technology companies across the education spectrum encompassing PreK-12, higher

education and future of work (career mobility/professional learning). Owl

Ventures has deep domain expertise and leverages a global network of Limited

Partners, investors, and strategic partners to help entrepreneurs scale their

businesses into transformative category leading companies. Learn more at

www.OwlVC.com

Contact: Tom Costin, tom@owlvc.com

SOURCE:  Owl Ventures