Brightwheel Early Education Platform Raises $55 Million On $600 Million Valuation

Early education software solution startup Brightwheel has raised $55 million in a Series C funding round that puts the company’s valuation at $600 million. The funding was led by Addition with participation from Emerson Collective, Next Play Ventures, Julia and Kevin Hartz and Daniel Shapero, along with existing investors GGV Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners and Eniac Ventures.

“Early education is one of the greatest determinants of childhood outcomes, a must for working families and an engine for the economy,” Dave Vasen, founder and CEO of Brightwheel, said in a press release on Wednesday (Feb. 3). Vasen said the company was “honored” to help early education providers and “proud” to have made an “impact” with numerous teachers, families and small businesses across the country.

More than 850,000 U.S. small businesses comprise the early education market, with many having always used resident software and spreadsheets for everyday operations. Brightwheel was the first company to develop an all-in-one software as a service (SaaS) solution to service the preschool and childcare industry. The Brightwheel platform enables providers to handle operations more efficiently, while also allowing teachers to work more closely with students and giving parents a chance to have deeper engagement. Brightwheel’s app enables preschools, daycare centers and camps to communicate with parents, and also handles billing.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many challenges to the early education industry; over 50 percent of preschools and childcare providers were shuttered during the spring of 2020. Brightwheel extended help by delivering COVID-specific innovations to advance home-based learning, safety, health checks, digital communications and touchless sign-in systems, the company said. Providers using the platform have said it was significant in helping them take on the challenges of the pandemic. 

“Brightwheel has established itself as the preferred operating system of the early education industry by supporting both providers and families, especially in recent months when they’ve needed it the most,” said Lee Fixel, founder of Addition. He added that Brightwheel has a “fantastic team” and that Addition was eager to help the company grow.

The company’s valuation jumped from $115 million in 2018, according to PitchBook. It’s now expected to be valued at $600 million after the recent funding, according to a Bloomberg report.

The Silicon Valley online learning platform Outschool offers an educational subscription marketplace with thousands of online classes available on a wide variety of subjects. And the transaction processing platform Bursari, designed for schools and community organizations, is helping educators, administrators, staff and parents update payment practices. The company is using Fiserv’s Digital Payments SDK for seamless, digital payments for school-related activities and programs.