US-listed social games developer Zynga and venture capital firm Rethink Education have separately set up strategic partnerships with non-profit NewSchools Venture Fund. NewSchools said set up a partnership with Zynga to help entrepreneurs develop education-focused games. Education, currently the third largest segment of the economy behind health and energy, received 1% of venture capital funding between 1995 and 2011 but had more than $1.1bn allocated for early-stage investment in 2012, according to NewSchools. Zynga will host the startups at its San Francisco, California, office. Zynga.org, the company’s non-profit, has committed $1m for the first year. Ken Weber, executive director of Zynga.org, said: “[With NewSchools], we want to help entrepreneurs create high quality, scalable learning games that will enhance learning experiences for all 21st century students.” The first cohort of the Zynga- and NewSchools-backed programme will start this summer and include learning gaming apps Kidaptive, LocoMotiveLabs and Motion Math. Education social network Edmodo will join the cohort as a charter partner. Separately, Rethink said it would contribute a “significant portion” of the fund’s carried interest to the San Francisco-based philanthropy. The partnership will last for the eight-year life of the fund. Rick Segal, managing partner at Rethink Education, said: “This marks an unprecedented step in the alignment of public and private education investors, and a powerful alliance between the two booming education technology centers of New York and San Francisco.” Ted Mitchell, chief executive of NewSchools Venture Fund, that has invested $180m since 1998 in 70 organisations, added: “This partnership with Rethink Education will fuel our ability to capitalize on this opportunity, by bringing capital and expertise to our country’s most important sector.”

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