Edtech is having its moment of reckoning. Waning test scores and mounting screentime concerns have parents, educators, and policymakers questioning whether technology is effective — or even appropriate — in schools.

Some of that ire is deserved. Many student-facing tools resemble little more than digitized worksheets that are disconnected from the pedagogy and human relationships at the core of good teaching and learning.

Yet proposals for blanket bans on “edtech” are concerning. Technology is core to school operations, from attendance and communications, to food, transportation, and the many non-academic services they provide. Teachers rely on it for lesson planning, accommodations, classroom management, and collaborative activities.

And yes, there are high-quality tools that do enrich the learning experience and improve student outcomes.

The question is not whether technology belongs in schools. It’s which technology, and how do we know? 

It’s a question that sits at the heart of everything we do at Reach. Impact runs through our team, culture, investment theses, and 100+ companies we’ve backed since 2015. We’ve supported more than 39 research studies for our portfolio companies and published five reports detailing the impact journeys of our companies.

This month, we announced the launch of Cobalt Collective, an independent nonprofit that extends our commitment to impact beyond our portfolio. Its mission: connecting researchers and funders with all entrepreneurs building effective, scalable products across learning, health, and work. Evidence can’t be an afterthought; it has to be designed in from day one.

Leading this work as Founding Executive Director is Clark McKown, a nationally recognized behavioral scientist and entrepreneur with real-world experience bridging science and business to bring high-quality products to scale. If this work resonates, please reach out.

The first three months of 2026 marked a historic quarter for venture capital, with over $300 billion deployed. Artificial intelligence has created one of the most dynamic fundraising environments the venture industry has seen. 

Yet it has also introduced real concerns around disruption to existing industry categories (especially SaaS), and hard questions about defensibility. And what about those companies that are not “AI-native?”

Our 2026 State of Early Stage Fundraising report explores what’s shaping deal sizes, valuations, and fundraising expectations, drawing on public and internal data, plus our firsthand experience leading rounds and helping founders raise. We also break down benchmarks across learning, health, and work, and offer practical guidance to help founders prepare for their next raise.

Special education continues to experience chronic teacher shortages: Two-thirds of public schools can’t fully staff their programs. Those who remain spend up to half their day on paperwork and compliance — not instruction.

Mara Steiu and Sagar Manchanda are relieving that burden as co-founders of Journify Learning, an evidence-based AI assistant for special education that automates paperwork, integrates with all support providers, and simplifies reporting efforts. Teachers using it save more than four hours per day, and rate the quality of instructional supports 9.5 out of 10.

We’re delighted to lead Journify’s Seed round. For the co-founders, both raised in families of educators, Journify is also a personal journey. Read more about their story below — and why we’re thrilled to work alongside them.

Research studies from independent researchers in two countries tell the same story: Students using the Innovamat math curriculum saw significant achievement gains that exceeded the typical gains expected of other core math programs.

In New Jersey, the study of 910 second and third-grade students over two years saw an effect size of 0.24, approximately equivalent to a student at the 50th percentile moving to the 58th percentile. In Brazil, the study of 39 schools over two years also saw similar results.

Beyond the numbers, researchers also interviewed teachers who noted a shift toward student-centered instruction. Pupils participated more in class discussions, and confidence increased among those who were previously less engaged. As one teacher noted:

“...the conversations that kids can hold about math are phenomenal. They talk their way through it. They’re getting to these understandings that I don’t think I could have gotten to as a second grader because they’re just constantly having to prove why.”

Last week Reach Partner James Kim attended SaaStr Summit, the world’s largest gathering for the B2B and AI community. Amid conversations with many of the industry’s leading operators and founders, one takeaway stood out: it is still early in the buildout of AI infrastructure for businesses.

Speakers challenged the assumption that core enterprise challenges — from contextual data retrieval and analytics workflows, to cybersecurity and compliance — would already be largely solved. Instead, many of these areas still feel wide open, with significant room for new approaches and category-defining companies. (Sound like what you’re working on? Reach out!)

The 2026 Reach Conference Calendar is the best way to see all the major industry events across learning, health, and work (filterable by sector, date, and location). If you’re hosting a conference or know of one we missed, reply to the newsletter.

Helping schools manage digital distractions, starting with cell phone compliance.

Developing physics AI that understands how the physical world works.

Creating the #1 career resource for physicians and APPs.

Rebuilding higher education for a new era: smarter, faster, and way more fun than lectures and debt.