ACT has made a strategic investment in Smart Sparrow, an online learning platform spun out from University of New South Wales.
Smart Sparrow, an US-based adaptive online learning platform spun out from University of New South Wales, obtained $7.5m in strategic funding on Monday from college entrance exam provider ACT.
Founded in 2011, Smart Sparrow has developed the Adaptive eLearning Platform, a platform to develop courseware that caters online lessons to individual student needs. The platform is used by more than 10,000 faculty members internationally, according to the spinout.
ACT will collaborate with Smart Sparrow on further development of the platform, as the corporate aims to drive the development adaptive learning technologies.
ACT itself is based on research at University of Iowa and was co-founded by Everett Franklin Lindquist, professor of education, and Ted McCarrel, the institution’s registrar.
Smart Sparrow previously raised $4m from commercialisation firm Uniseed, One Ventures and Moelis Australia Asset Maanagement in April 2017. Uniseed is backed by the universities of New South Wales, Melbourne and Queensland as well as research institute CSIRO.
Yellow Brick Capital Advisers led a $10m series B round in 2014, after Uniseed and One Ventures had supplied $2m in series A capital in 2013.
Dror Ben-Naim, co-founder and CEO of Smart Sparrow, said: “We have long admired ACT’s leadership in education research and efficacy, which reflects our own heritage as a university-incubated technology.
“This new association will help us deliver on our mission of putting amazing technology in the hands of global educators, so they can create dynamic learning experiences that authentically blend learning and assessment.
“Educators will be better equipped to address the needs of their individual learners and prepare them to be deep thinkers and creative problem solvers.”