ETS and LearnLaunch to Fund Edtech Startups

PRINCETON, N.J., June 4, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- To further advance its mission, ETS is enhancing its historical role as a nonprofit organization devoted to educational research and assessment to include support for the education startup community.

ETS and LearnLaunch Accelerator are collaborating to expand the edtech ecosystem with funding and industry leading support and expertise. This collaboration will substantially increase the resources that startups selected by the accelerator program will receive to help them reach their growth goals. LearnLaunch Accelerator is the leading edtech early-stage startup accelerator that invests in the most promising education entrepreneurs worldwide. It is currently accepting applications through June 10 at 11:59 p.m. ET. More information is available on the website, www.learnlaunch.com/accelerator.

While ETS remains committed to providing fair and valid assessments, research and related services, this initiative provides another avenue for ETS to use its considerable resources to positively impact the future of education. The company's products and services help teachers teach, students learn and parents measure the intellectual progress of their children. However, ETS must anticipate changing educational needs, evolving market needs and provide meaningful information to partners in education and learners of every kind. The collaboration with LearnLaunch can help to transform education and help learners everywhere reach their fullest potential.

"ETS's work has evolved over time as the needs of our many stakeholders have changed. This is the next phase in our evolution," said Scott Weaver, ETS's Chief Strategy Officer. "Our research has always supported innovation and informed education policy. The marriage of ETS's research-driven portfolio and LearnLaunch's agile startups can create a world of new possibilities for using technology to achieve better educational outcomes."

"We're excited to partner with ETS on what we believe is the future of edtech acceleration. We share similar viewpoints on challenges the market faces and are working together, utilizing our complementary resources, to impact the next generation of teaching and learning companies," said Jean Hammond, Co-Founder and General Partner of LearnLaunch Accelerator. "Our goal is to promote the growth and development of the edtech sector and this partnership further enables us to expand our domain expertise and offer really unique support to our entrepreneurs."

LearnLaunch Accelerator promotes the growth of the edtech sector. It provides the most promising education technology startups with a personalized development plan ? guided by an industry leading venture partner and a network of industry-focused mentors in order to grow a successful edtech startup. ETS's Richard Varn, a Distinguished Presidential Appointee, will be joining LearnLaunch as a Venture Partner.

Within this capacity ETS will use its vast industry expertise and knowledge to mentor and fund promising startups in order to help improve their efficacy around solving education problems and advancing equity in education.

About ETS
At ETS, we advance quality and equity in education for people worldwide by creating assessments based on rigorous research. ETS serves individuals, educational institutions and government agencies by providing customized solutions for teacher certification, English language learning, and elementary, secondary and postsecondary education, and by conducting education research, analysis and policy studies. Founded as a nonprofit in 1947, ETS develops, administers and scores more than 50 million tests annually ? including the TOEFL^® and TOEIC?^® tests, the GRE ^® tests and The Praxis Series?^® assessments ? in more than 180 countries, at over 10,000 locations worldwide. www.ets.org

About LearnLaunch Accelerator
LearnLaunch Accelerator II, LLC is a leading edtech startup program, personalized for each entrepreneur. After a highly selective application process, LearnLaunch Accelerator provides the most promising edtech startups worldwide with seed funding, an unmatched team of mentors, intensive coaching and all the tools needed to grow a successful edtech startup. LearnLaunch Accelerator fund provides a diversified platform for early stage edtech investors. For more information, visit www.learnlaunch.com/accelerator and follow LearnLaunch Accelerator @learnlaunchX. 

About LearnLaunch
LearnLaunch is dedicated to connecting, supporting and growing the education technology ecosystem to drive innovation and transform learning. We are a vibrant community, delivering educational events, a selective accelerator program and a collaborative co-working space. We are based in Boston, a world education hub. For more information, visit www.learnlaunch.com and follow LearnLaunch at @learnlaunch.

SOURCE Educational Testing Service