CPE News (6/30/2021) – Paper, formerly GradeSlam, has raised US $100 million in Series C funding led by IVP with participation of existing investors, Framework Venture Partners, Bullpen Capital, Reach Capital, Birchmere Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, BDC Capital and ETW.
Paper did not say if the total amount also included the amount from the Series B round which closed in December 2020 and was led by Framework Venture Partners.
In connection with the closing of the financing, Tom Loverro, General Partner at IVP, has joined Paper’s board of directors. Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP acted as legal counsel to IVP.
Founded and led by Philip Cutler and Roberto Cipriani, Paper partners with K-12 schools throughout the U.S. and Canada to give every student an equal opportunity to excel academically. Its educational support system (ESS) provides learners with unlimited 24/7 homework help, writing feedback, and study support at a predictable fixed cost. Paper’s specialized tutors deliver on-demand, 1:1 academic support in four languages across more than 200 academic subject areas—so students always have access to expert extra help exactly when, where, and how they need it.
photo credit: Paper
News Release
Education Company Paper Seeks to Close the Public School System Inequity Gap; Raises $100 Million USD Investment Led by IVP
MONTREAL, June 30, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Paper, the leading software provider of 24/7 high dosage tutoring, today announced that it has raised a $100M Series C round led by IVP. Returning investors Framework Venture Partners, Bullpen Capital, Reach Capital, Birchmere Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, BDC Capital and ETW also participated. This investment comes in the wake of extraordinary growth over the last year – from supporting 50,000 students to over one million across North America. Proceeds from the financing will be used to scale the business and further invest in Paper’s Educational Support System (ESS). In conjunction with the financing, Tom Loverro, General Partner at IVP and 2021 Forbes Midas List awardee, has joined the company’s Board of Directors.
Paper’s mission is to provide every student an equal opportunity to excel academically. Research shows that high dosage tutoring is not only extremely helpful in accelerating student learning but also in tackling the widening inequality in educational outcomes.* Of those kids who require tutoring assistance outside of the classroom, the vast majority cannot afford it. Importantly, and partially driven by remote learning requirements forced by the COVID-19 pandemic, school districts have realized that they and not parents/guardians must assume the responsibility of providing access to tutoring.
“Over the course of the last year, we’ve seen first-hand the stark inequality present in the public education system. The stakes have never been higher for the many kids being left academically behind. It’s devastating to kids, their parents, their communities, and our nation’s future,” said Tom Loverro, General Partner, IVP. “In speaking with large school districts, it’s clear that Paper addresses an urgent need where others have failed – scaling high dosage tutoring that serves all students in need. We are excited to partner with this talented team as they continue to do this important work and grow the business.”
Paper addresses the greatest challenges school districts face in implementing effective tutoring: cost, equity, and scale. School districts contract with Paper for a fixed price, unlimited usage model that uplifts their entire school community: Students and families get equitable, on-demand support from multilingual tutors, teachers get the help of 24/7 virtual assistants to track student progress and personalize instruction, and administrators get the opportunity to deliver on critical strategic objectives.
“We are thrilled by the feedback we continue to receive from school districts, teachers, parents, and students alike related to the critical academic support we are providing kids,” said Philip Cutler, CEO of Paper. “Tutoring, once reserved for the privileged few, is now broadly accessible, leveling the playing field across all students.”
Added Cutler, “Our partnership with IVP and ongoing support from existing investors opens new horizons for Paper, allowing us to make critical investments in innovation and scale, with the aim of continuing to tackle inequalities in our public school system. We’re grateful for their support.”
Pursuant to IVP’s investment, Mr. Loverro has joined the company’s Board of Directors.
About Paper
Paper partners with K-12 schools throughout the U.S. and Canada to give every student an equal opportunity to excel academically. Our educational support system (ESS) provides learners with unlimited 24/7 homework help, writing feedback, and study support at a predictable fixed cost. Paper’s specialized tutors deliver on-demand, 1:1 academic support in four languages across more than 200 academic subject areas—so students always have access to expert extra help exactly when, where, and how they need it.
Paper is privately funded with investments from IVP, Framework Venture Partners, Bullpen Capital, Reach Capital, Google, Birchmere Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, BDC Capital, and more. Learn more at www.paper.co.
About IVP
Founded in 1980, IVP is one of the premier later-stage venture capital and growth equity firms in the United States. IVP has invested in over 400 companies, 122 of which have gone public. IVP is one of the top-performing firms in the industry and has a 40-year IRR of 43.1%. IVP specializes in venture growth investments, industry rollups, founder liquidity transactions, and select public market investments. IVP investments include such notable companies as AppDynamics (CSCO), Attentive, Brex, Coinbase (COIN), Compass (COMP), CrowdStrike (CRWD), Datadog (DDOG), Discord, Dropbox (DBX), GitHub (MSFT), Glossier, Grammarly, HashiCorp, Hims & Hers (HIMS), Hopin, Klarna, LegalZoom, Looker (GOOGL), Marketo (MKTO), MasterClass, Mindbody (MB), MuleSoft (CRM), Netflix (NFLX), Niantic, Podium, Robinhood, Rubrik, Slack (WORK), Snap (SNAP), Supercell (Tencent), Tanium, Twitter (TWTR), UiPath (PATH), Wise, ZipRecruiter (ZIP), and Zynga (ZNGA). For more information, visit www.ivp.com or follow IVP on Twitter: @ivp.
Media Contact:
Tony Keller
tkeller@outvox.com
*[2] Annenberg Institute at Brown University. Accelerating Student Learning With High-Dosage Tutoring:Brief;2021. https://annenberg.brown.edu/sites/default/files/EdResearch_for_Recovery_Design_Principles_1.pdf