🤖 AI Capabilities in Education + HolonIQ Back to School Summit

Hello 👋

Global technology companies and governments are investing in initiatives to build AI capabilities, preparing individuals for jobs across all sectors. This past week, the US released an executive order dedicating nearly $100M to attract and develop AI talent. Similar to efforts by Google and Microsoft, Amazon committed $50M to help public sector organizations build capabilities in Generative AI technology, and Coursera introduced new AI courses offering credentials and certifications. Expect more large-scale public-private partnerships to drive global AI education and workforce development. AI will affect all sectors, but its impact on education is significant, with applications integrated throughout the learning journey. Our latest research on AI shares findings from our 2024 survey, exploring the motivations for educational institutions to adopt AI, with learner outcomes being the biggest driver, followed by cost savings and the ability to generate content.

🍎 Tickets Selling Fast for the Back to School Summit - NYC 10-11 Sept

Tickets are selling fast for the HolonIQ Back to School Summit in New York on September 10–11 in New York City. The 'Back to School' Summit will bring together 500 influential leaders from Pre-K to Higher Education and Workforce, Philanthropic foundations, leading education companies and policymakers, major institutional investors, and technology leaders for roundtables, presentations, and networking. 2024 will follow three broad tracks; Foundations & Philanthropy, Higher Education & Workforce and Technology & Finance. Register here.

💪 Power Moves

🏭 Intel Launches Manufacturing Apprenticeship Program in US. Intel is piloting its first U.S. apprenticeship program for manufacturing facility technicians in Arizona, who will also receive college credit.

💻 Biden Administration commits $100M toward Prioritizing Safe and Responsible AI Development in Education. An Executive Order was issued to attract AI talent and develop AI technologies that uphold safety, security, democratic values, and human rights.

🤖 Tech Giants Unite for AI Safety Standards Google, Microsoft, Amazon, OpenAI, and other major tech companies have formed a new industry group to promote AI safety and security standards.

🧑‍🏫 Teacher Support

🤲 Khan Academy and iTeach Partner on AI Teacher Training. Khan Academy partnered with  iTeach, a certification platform, to provide AI-powered teaching tools to aspiring educators.

🧑‍💼 Pearson Unveils AI Tool for Educators. Pearson has introduced a new AI tool to assist educators in saving time and focusing on student learning as the use of generative AI in education increases.

👩‍🎓 New California Law to Ease Teacher Credentialing. The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing has introduced a new state law intended to address the teacher shortage by making it easier to enter credential programs.

🖥️ Digital Content and Curriculum

🌍 UNICEF Expands Global Partnership with China. UNICEF has expanded its cooperation with China to provide health services and digital education for children around the world.

📚 Duolingo Launches New Intermediate English Course. Duolingo, a language learning platform, has introduced a new intermediate English course to assist English learners globally.

💰Deals of the Week

💰Auxilo Finserve, providing education finance in India, is raising $33.4 million, led by LeapFrog Investments, to expand customer reach, enhance student funding, and support tech infrastructure.

💻 byteXL, an Indian provider of LMS systems for engineering colleges, raised $5.9M from a Series A funding round to expand its operations.

📚 Glorang, a Korean AI education technology company, has received an undisclosed investment from TBS Innovation Partners as it aims to expand into the Japanese market.

👩🏻‍🏫 Edwin Group, the UK’s largest provider of supply teachers, was acquired by Quad Partners, a private equity firm, highlighting the potential growth of solutions to address global teacher shortages.

🏆 2024 North America EdTech 200

The annual list of the most promising EdTech startups from North America. This year’s list sees management systems along with workforce and skills as the two largest categories, with learning environments and financing education dominating in management systems, whilst workforce and skills sees significant diversity in solutions, ranging from workforce and career planning to upskilling and mentoring.

In 2024, there’s been a significant lift in early stage companies with 1 in 5 founded three or less years ago, many focusing on the K12 sector and, not surprisingly, with AI as a core element of their value proposition. The experiencing learning segment remains strong with simulated and immersive learning particularly evident. B2B models once again dominate as the long term integration of digital into formal education progresses.

Thank you for reading. Have a great week ahead!
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