📚 LA-Based Numerade Seeks to Overcome LA Students' Pandemic Setbacks
Christian Hetrick is dot.LA's Entertainment Tech Reporter. He was formerly a business reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer and reported on New Jersey politics for the Observer and the Press of Atlantic City.
🔦 Spotlight
Numerade, the LA-based AI-powered online STEM learning platform, is here to support LA’s under-appreciated heroes - the teachers. It offers valuable resources to help them with teaching, creating lesson plans, and more.🤖📚🍎
Numerade announced an initiative to provide one year of free Numerade Plus services to all Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) students and teachers. The platform provides over 100 million step-by-step video lessons along with a GPT-4 powered AI tutor, Ace, which tailors personalized study plans, provides immediate homework help, gives in-depth explanations, and offers social-emotional support. The platform also aids teachers in grading and making assessments.
The EdTech startup started the initiative to provide free Numerade Plus as a way to alleviate pandemic setbacks in learning. LAUSD test scores show that about 7 in 10 students still do not meet standards in math. While the test scores are showing some progress compared to last year, math scores are still below levels from the 2017-18 school year–two years before the pandemic.
These disparities and access to supplemental learning is especially prominent in LAUSD where more than 80% students are at or below the poverty level. While tutoring is an essential part of assisting academic recovery, it has reached fewer than 1 in 10 LA students. Numerade’s AI tutor helps expand access to all LA students.
Numerade highlights its mission: “to close the educational opportunity gap by unlocking and democratizing access to extraordinary educators and the content they have to offer.” Its CEO, Nhon Ma, grew up in LA and experienced educational inequities as a student himself. Ma co-founded the startup to provide accessible educational support outside of the classroom. Onwards and Upwards LAUSD!🎓📈🚀
🤝 Venture Deals
LA Startups
- Zelig, startup that says it is using a combination of AI, machine learning, and computer vision to help consumers visualize how clothes will look on different body types, raised a $15M Series A led by Hilco, and was joined by Bezikian Zareh. - learn more
- L-Nutra, a maker of longevity nutrition products, raised a $47M Series D co-led by Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel and Brentwood Associates. - learn more
- Needed, a maker of perinatal supplements, raised $14M Funding Round led by The Craftory , and was joined by insiders Seae Ventures and Crescent Ridge Partners. - learn more
- Sift, a telemetrystack startup, raised a $7.5M Funding Round from Riot Ventures, Fika Ventures, First Resonance, Datum and Duro. - learn more
LA Funds
- M13 led a $5.6M Funding Round for Polimorphic, a provider of paperwork digitization tools for local governments. - learn more
📅 LA Tech Calendar
Saturday, November 11th
- The Multimodal Generative Hack - Join AI LA and the brightest innovators in music, video, gaming, and AI for two days in Playa Del Rey to shape the future of entertainment and interactive design!
Tuesday, November 14th
- The Creator Economy, Hollywood, and Artificial Intelligence - A special evening including stimulating conversations, live podcast recordings, insider networking, tasty refreshments, and surprises!
Wednesday, November 15th
- LA Tech Happy Hour - West LA - Meet and connect with like-minded entrepreneurs, investors, and industry professionals while enjoying refreshing drinks. Learn about the latest trends and developments in the tech industry and expand your professional network!
Thursday, November 16th
- Female Founders in Food Tech Pitch Finals - Attend this pitch competition in culver City for early stage entrepreneurs working to make the future of food and agriculture more sustainable, climate-resilient, and culture-rich.
Have an awesome event coming up? Reach out to be featured on next week’s Newsletter!
📙 What We’re Reading
- Athlete-led video podcasts are Bleacher Report’s next big bet. - read more
- SpaceX eyes sales of $15 billion in 2024 because of Starlink strength. - read more
- LA-based electronic sports and entertainment company FaZe Holdings Inc. is being acquired by media and technology conglomerate GameSquare Holdings Inc. - read more
- Kevin Bacon celebrates end to actors strike by re-creating ‘Footloose’ dance. - read more
Christian Hetrick is dot.LA's Entertainment Tech Reporter. He was formerly a business reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer and reported on New Jersey politics for the Observer and the Press of Atlantic City.
