VC as the New Game in Town for Education

A vast amount of venture capital is flowing into the education sector, most of it toward edtech ventures that use digital technology to focus, refine, accelerate, or augment what happens in classrooms. The infographic below, from CB Insights, shows the nine largest VC players in the edtech space and the dozens of companies they are backing, representing more than US$1 billion in investment every year since 2010.At the same time, this article, about a shake-out in the the coding boot camp field, from the New York Times, along with the well-publicized money and quality issues in for-profit online higher education programs, sounds a cautionary note about the prospects for commercial success in edtech. Nonetheless, all of this is more evidence that the education sector is being disrupted by forces on all sides.As with other disruptors and start-ups, some of these ventures will fizzle, others will merge or by acquired by established organizations, and some may just transform the field. One thing is clear: the inflow of venture capital into education--a field in which many have found it difficult to wring a profit--is the new game in town.