Massachusetts-Based EdTech Sharpen Raises $11M to Expand Its Operations
Summary
Sharpen, a Concord, Massachusetts-based company that offers a science-backed, early-risk assessment and high-outcome digital reading programme explicitly designed to empower parents, has raised $11 million in its Series A funding round led by Learn Capital. With this fundraising, the startup plans to expand operations and its business reach.Sharpen, led by President Jack Kelleher, provides pre-K and elementary-aged children with early intervention assessments and a digital reading programme that includes scripted lessons and ongoing progress monitoring. Based on the science of reading developed by a team of researchers and literacy experts, the company gives parents the tools to assess their childs risk of developing reading challenges as early as two years old. Sharpen Reading is designed to empower parents and tutors with the tools they need to teach mastery and efficiently move children to grade-level reading and beyond.Sharpens journey began in 2019 when a group of passionate parents, educators, and researchers came together to provide new ways for families to identify reading challenges earlier than ever before and provide more equitable and affordable access to learning solutions. The belief that all children deserve the opportunity to learn to read is at the heart of its mission, and the prevalent wait-to-fail model in the United States can be turned on its head.