The Noodle Companies-- a family of education technology companies -- today announced a $5 million Series A investment from SWaN & Legend Venture Partners. Since its founding in 2010, Noodle Companies has successfully introduced tools and services that have helped schools -- from K-12 through universities -- offer better programs; and their key constituencies -- students and parents -- make better choices. This investment will accelerate the development and adoption of the suite of Noodle products.
Currently there are four Noodle companies, each sharing a mission and collaborative resources. They include (1) Noodle.com, an education discovery tool that helps parents and students make better decisions about learning choices; (2) Noodle Markets, which provides 21st-century tools that revolutionize K-12 purchasing, dramatically helping schools and districts buy products and services; (3) Noodle Partners, which works with the best universities to create world-class, agile online degree programs, and (4) Noodle Pros, which connects students to the best tutors for one-on-one test prep, academic help and learning-disability assistance.
'This is a very exciting time in the education world, and we are not just poised to serve it, but to help accelerate transformative changes,' said John Katzman, founder and CEO of The Noodle Companies. 'For example, five years ago, online courses in college were little more than videotaped lectures. Faculty were often hostile and administrators indifferent. Today, because of what we did at 2U, fully 30% of graduate-level degrees and certificates are online-only programs. But five years is an eternity in the technology world, and what we designed then is almost obsolete now. Now, Noodle Partners is creating and offering the next generation of online higher education. And that is only one example. Because of our collaborative, open-source approach, The Noodle Companies are poised -- and will use this capital -- to serve all of the quickly-changing education markets and challenges.'
The Noodle Companies have already established substantial footprints in education marketplaces, currently with four subsidiaries. Highlights include:
-� Noodle.com will launch next generation apps this month, with initial focus on college admissions. The apps' combination of the most robust and insightful database of college profiles, artificial intelligence, and free consulting by top college counselors will deliver a unique combination of high-tech and high-touch to a stressful, expensive, and ineffective process (60% of students do not graduate from the school where they started).
- Noodle Markets has generated 10% more RFPs or RFIs each of the past four months, and is rolling out a district-wide version of its network marketplace.
- Noodle Partners has partnered with the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University and expects to announce four other university relationships in Q1.
- Noodle Pros grew 60% in 2016, and is expected to double that pace in 2017.
- Finally, The Noodle Companies has partnered with Renaissance Learning, ExecOnline, and other companies to create a 25,000 square foot office in a historic Union Square building. This 'Ed Tech Factory' will become a hub for New York's education technology community.
'The Noodle Companies are changing how education works and what it means to students, teachers, families and institutions. We are proud to support the creation of valuable companies that promote their important mission,' said Fred Schaufeld at SWaN & Legend.
The Noodle Companies were founded by Katzman who previously founded and ran two publicly held education companies, The Princeton Review and 2U. Noodle Partners previously announced a seed funding round of $4 millio n led by Osage Ventures in October, 2016 and Noodle Markets announced a $3 million seed round of funding led by Rethink Education in January, 2016.
About The Noodle Companies
Founded by a team of education and technology veterans, Noodle Companies comprise a portfolio of companies including Noodle.com, Noodle Markets, Noodle Partners and Noodle Pros. These companies are increasing transparency and efficiency in education and, in doing so, making it easier for better technologies, schools, and curricula to rise to the top. The Noodle Companies are changing the way education programs are conceptualized, designed and delivered -- expanding access, improving quality and transparency and reducing costs for everyone. For more information, please visit: https://companies.noodle.com/
About SWaN & Legend Venture Partners
SWaN & Legend Venture Partners is a multi-stage venture capital firm that invests in high-growth, high-quality organizations and the extraordinary entrepreneurs that drive them. Collectively, the partners have raised over $5 billion of institutional financing and participated in over 150 private investments. SWaN takes a consultative approach that helps organizations build trusted brands worthy of consumer passions in the fields of retail products and services; technology-enabled commerce and education; food and hospitality; and sports and entertainment. Within SWaN's network of portfolio companies and partners are some of the brightest minds in business today. For more information, visit http://www.swanandlegend.com/