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- The Reach Wire | Issue 01
The Reach Wire | Issue 01
Four things to remember from ‘24, as all good things must come to (Smart)pass.
Tony Wan
January 15th, 2025
Welcome to the Reach Wire. Each month, we deliver fresh insights into the world of learning, health, and work — combining news and data we’re tracking, perspectives from the team at Reach Capital, and updates from our portfolio. Subscribe for the latest.
It’s a new dawn, a new day, a new year. 2025 isn’t just another trip around the sun; for Reach, it will mark our tenth.
It’s hard to believe a decade has passed since we first began investing out of a little shoebox office in Palo Alto. Our team, portfolio, partners, and community have grown so much since — especially last year, when we held our first multi-day Founder retreat, and renewed our thesis to double down on what gets us out of bed every morning: backing founders who share our mission to elevate human potential and purpose across learning, health, and work.
And now — a new publication! The Reach Wire is our monthly update to keep you on top of what we’re learning, writing, and Slacking about, as we embark on the next 10 years and beyond. Buckle up.
4 things to remember from ‘24
Venture capital is changing, but we’re not slowing. 2024 was one of our most active investing years yet, as we closed 42 deals (19 of them new investments). According to investment bank Oppenheimer, we’re the most active investor in our space.
With $2.9 billion invested in 2024, is the broader U.S. edtech funding environment set for a rebound? Tony Wan with the annual recap and how the education market is shifting in big ways that present both funding challenges and opportunities.
Beyond edtech, Jomayra Herrera shares the nine macro trends transforming health care that we’re closely tracking and investing in. Part 2 goes deeper into one area we’ve already been active in: solving the healthcare workforce shortage.
In college sports, NIL deals reached over $1.2B in 2023-24. It will only continue to grow, and fundamentally transform higher ed along the way. But it’s more than a market opportunity. It's about empowering athletes with tools for financial independence, education, and career growth. Wayee Chu maps the emerging tools in this new frontier.
From the portfolio
Latest Deals
Teachy: AI-powered workspace for teachers to create engaging, standards-aligned lessons while saving time • $7M Series A, co-led by Reach Capital with Goodwater Capital (BusinessWire).
Stepful: Online training and placement programs for allied healthcare workers • $31.5 million Series B round led by Oak HC/FT, which we joined; we led their Seed in 2021 (TechCrunch).
Cometa: Helping private schools in Latin America optimize financial and administrative operations • $12M Series A led by Reach Capital (LatamList).
Tenor: AI for leaders to improve communication skills • $5.4M Seed joined by Reach Capital (HR Brew).
SmartPass: It’s a bittersweet moment with SmartPass, which was acquired by Raptor Technologies last month. Built by students, the digital hall pass solution is now a category leader in school safety and operations, proving that groundbreaking innovations can come from unlikely places — like a high school coding class. We led their seed in 2023 and Steve Kupfer reflects on our time with the team.
From Left: Wayee Chu (Reach Capital), Peter Luba (SmartPass), Dhruv Sringari (SmartPass), Steve Kupfer (Reach Capital)
Wins & News
Kid mental health is a bipartisan issue. In an op-ed, Cartwheel founder Daniel Tartovsky highlights four state lawmakers who are working to expand mental health resources with efficient, effective solutions.
A Wall Street Journal profile of Lovevery — “a veritable Santa’s workshop of sustainable toys” for young children informed by experts and research at all levels — and its growth into a $226 million business.
Degree planning tools for students are getting an extreme makeover, as Stellic’s advising and degree management system is being implemented in universities across the country. Its latest wins: Duke and the University of Delaware.
AI-detection service GPTZero can now check whether factual claims are based on authentic or dubious sources, the latter of which is increasingly common thanks to fanciful AI models.
Slacking off
Stories we’re buzzing about in the office.
The share of U.S. adults having dinner or drinks with friends has declined by more than 30 percent in the past 20 years. The percent of boys and girls who meet up regularly with friends outside of school has declined by nearly half since the 1990s. What gives?
In the latest of his reported series on American loneliness, Atlantic writer Derek Thompson explores how self-imposed solitude has come to be a defining U.S. phenomenon of the 21st century, and how it’s shaping our personalities, politics and relationship to reality. For all the friction that technology can remove when it comes to modern conveniences and connections, it’s also displacing some longstanding aspects of human relationships and social rituals that are essential to our well-being. Thompson asks: “What would it mean to select technology based on long-term health rather than instant gratification?”
We’re also asking: to what extent is this phenomenon unique to the U.S.? Is a culture of rugged individualism at odds with social cohesion? What are the new societal engines that can help young people find purpose and community in a digital age? (Is the solution simply to party more, as another Atlantic writer suggests?)
The data room
If you’re building solutions to move the needle on these figures, or in other areas across learning, health, and work, we’d love to hear from you!
Health
People are living longer, but not necessarily healthier. Americans on average now live with illness for 12.4 years, the highest of all countries, according to a new analysis from the Mayo Clinic.
U.S. healthcare spending rose 7.5% to nearly $5 trillion in 2023, driven in part by worker shortages and hospital consolidation.
Learning
On the 2023 TIMSS, an international math and science test, scores for U.S. students continue to dip, extending a trend that started before the pandemic. On another benchmark, the number of U.S. adults whose math skills didn’t pass primary grade level rose to 34%, up from 29% in 2017.
About 46,000 special education teachers leave public schools every year, while teacher preparation programs are training fewer than 30,000 new ones to replace them. Even as schools employ more special education roles, demand for these services has risen even faster.
Work
77% of frontline workers say that flexible schedules aren’t just nice-to-have, but essential. The report from WorkWhile (a Reach portfolio company) shows how perks that are compatible with flexible work drive greater satisfaction and retention.
In 2025, 46% of executives say their organizations will be scaling AI. Yet only 22% say their organization has integrated AI knowledge, skills, and abilities into employee professional development plans.
Partner Perspectives
Edtech Insiders
From AI to M&A, Jomayra Herrera discusses the latest trends in edtech investing and the importance of thinking in 10-year timeframes. On another episode, Shauntel Garvey shares our evolving vision across learning, health and work (starting at 25:40).
The Enthusiast
Esteban Sosnik discusses the evolution of the edtech industry, the parallels between gaming and learning, and why founders should never lose sight of purpose and happiness in their journey.
Oh, the places we’ll go
Jan. 13-16 | San Francisco, CA
Animo Ventures GP:LP Summit
Jan. 29-31 | Miami, FL
TCEA Convention & Expo
Feb. 1-5 | Austin, TX
CooleyED Edtech Summit
Feb. 12 | San Francisco, CA
ViVE 2025
Feb. 17-19 | Nashville, TN
Upfront Summit
Feb. 25-27 | Los Angeles, CA
Next Moves
Big moves start with bold clicks. Where will you go next?
AI-powered platform helping teachers create and deliver lessons that spark students’ curiosity.
Account Executive / Sr. Account Executive (US, Remote)
Product Designer (US, Remote)
Lead Engineer (Oslo, Norway)
The leading platform for AI detection and responsible AI adoption.
Founding Growth Marketer (NYC, Hybrid)
Fullstack Engineer (NYC/Toronto, Hybrid)
Machine Learning Engineer / Staff / Senior (NYC/Toronto, Hybrid)
K-12 educational support system for tutoring, enrichment, and college/career readiness.
Customer Engagement Specialists (Multiple Locations)
Digital Segment Customer Success Manager (US, Remote)
A visual learning platform helping students master complex concepts.
Director of Clinical Education (US, Remote)
Product Marketing Manager (US, Remote)
Sr. Product Manager, AI (US, Remote)
There are 480 job openings across the Reach portfolio. Check them out here.