Ed Tech company BrightBytes raises a $2.5M investment from Rethink Education Venture Fund

NEW YORK, July 15, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- BrightBytes Inc. has announced $2.5 million in Series A funding by Rethink Education, a New York-based venture capital fund that invests exclusively in education technology startups. This funding follows the Company's raise of a $750,000 convertible note in December 2012, led by Learn Capital with participation from NewSchools Venture Fund.  Matt Greenfield, managing partner of Rethink Education, will be joining the BrightBytes board.

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BrightBytes is a learning analytics company that measures student-learning outcomes using data analysis and educational research in the form of technology surveys delivered through its proprietary engine. The outputs of the analysis are used to power an online platform that serves as a decision support system for educational leaders.  "As technology use grows within the K-12 classroom, there is an increasing need to verify the gains attributable to educational technology and to evaluate the usefulness of software and practices at a localized level," said Matt Greenfield, Managing Partner of Rethink Education. "BrightBytes helps districts understand the real value and the true cost of their technological investments."

The Company's first product, Clarity for Schools, measures the impact of technology use on student learning outcomes by identifying strengths and gaps, writing detailed planning documents, and delivering the tools needed to take action.  BrightBytes addresses a very clear problem that all schools in the 21^st century face – a lack of ROI support system for technology that they are integrating in the classroom.

As technology increasingly permeates the classroom, a logical need arises for measurement of the ROI of the products and technological services taking place within learning.  BrightBytes Clarity product also gives schools and administrators a direct link to their teachers and students, finally connecting the purchasers with the ultimate users.  BrightBytes allows education technology companies to very clearly demonstrate their value to schools, and allows districts to easily make decisions on what is going to be overkill and how to use money more efficiently.

BrightBytes Clarity platform has been adopted by thousands of schools in North America, and the company has begun to expand globally.  BrightBytes just completed a statewide rollout of Clarity in Iowa, in partnership with the Iowa Area Education Agencies, and in the fall of 2013 they will release Version 3 of the Clarity platform.  The company is in discussions with several other states.  BrightBytes was selected as an "Emerging Private Sector Partner" by the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA).

About Rethink Education
Rethink Education is an early-stage education technology venture capital fund investing in early-stage companies that have demonstrated success in implementing business models that leverage technology to re-imagine how traditional education is delivered.  Rethink's investments include EverFi, Engrade, Hapara, and Pathbrite.

SOURCE Rethink Education