Select Portfolio Highlights
Across the country, Transfr continues to expand partnerships with institutions and organizations to provide underserved populations with essential career exploration through VR technology. In Illinois, Transfr has begun working with the Illinois Eastern Community Colleges’ (IECC’s) adult education program to train learners in skills applicable to all 16 state-required career clusters. Upon completion, nearly half of trainees scored at or above 90% on the real-world transfer test without prior coaching or hands-on experience, a testament to Transfr’s efficacy. In Indiana, Ivy Tech Community College hosted local middle and High School students to explore careers in IT, healthcare, and manufacturing using Transfr’s VR simulations. As Ivy Tech Lawrenceburg/Batesville Chancellor Mark Graver said, “the integration of VR in our career exploration programs is a testament to our commitment to innovation and preparing our students for the future workforce.” In Pennsylvania, York County Prison launched a groundbreaking program utilizing Transfr’s VR training to equip justice-impacted individuals with employable skills to reduce recidivism and promote economic mobility. This diverse range of programs highlights the extensive coverage of Transfr’s simulations and their broad applicability across various educational settings.
BookNook's high-impact tutoring model continues to expand its reach by recently launching in nine SFUSD elementary schools to provide literacy support to 350 students. This initiative, supported by the SF Ed Fund's dedication to serving disadvantaged students, builds on last year’s success, in which students who attended over 70% of their BookNook tutoring sessions improved their reading proficiency by 1-2 grade levels. The urgent need for high-dosage tutoring like BookNook's is further underscored by recent NAEP 2024 scores, which highlight persistent learning gaps. BookNook's model, with its consistent, trained tutors and high-quality materials, is uniquely positioned to address these critical educational gaps and ensure long-term academic success for underserved students. Under the leadership of CEO Kristen Werk, BookNook is strategically positioned for impactful growth and innovation, with a focus on expanding access and enhancing the quality of tutoring programs to meet the evolving needs of students nationwide.
OpenClassrooms started 2025 off strong with their inclusion in France Digitale's 2025 AI Mapping, followed by their citation by President Macron as an AI leader in education. In the US, OpenClassrooms was selected as a key partner to help New York City achieve its “30x30” goal of connecting 30,000 New Yorkers to apprenticeships by 2030. "Apprenticeships are a valuable tool to uplift our fellow New Yorkers, giving them the ability to stand on their own two feet and enjoy rewarding, meaningful careers,” said New York State Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar in the announcement during Jobs Week 2025. OpenClassrooms also recently partnered with HelloWork, the leading recruitment platform in France, to simplify access to thousands of work-study opportunities in France. This partnership expands the company's catalog and makes it easier for students to find relevant job opportunities all in one place. Through these initiatives, OpenClassrooms continues to show its dedication to expanding access to education and employment opportunities around the globe while encouraging innovation in learning.
Disprz kicked off 2025 with a strong presence at the Microsoft CEO Excellence Event, where Co-Founder and CEO Subbu Viswanathan showcased how GenAI is revolutionizing learning and skilling for global organizations. Recent results include helping a major e-commerce company build a comprehensive assessment suite in just 24 hours and saving L&D teams 50-60 hours per quarter through GenAI-driven insights. Disprz also secured Gold and Bronze awards at the 2024 Brandon Hall Group Excellence in Technology Awards, receiving industry recognition for its GenAI-powered upskilling solutions and personalized learning paths, including in the “Best Advance in Generative AI Learning Solution” category. Additionally, a new partnership with TRACTUS is expanding Disprz’s impact by delivering robust learning solutions to SMBs in the US, making cutting-edge learning accessible to businesses of all sizes. These milestones reflect Disprz’s ongoing commitment to deliver learning and skilling to organizations around the globe.
Learning.com is committed to expanding digital literacy, computational thinking and online safety for students through their robust platform. Digital literacy starts with mastering core competencies, as highlighted in a recent Education Week article that emphasized the importance of foundational skills like keyboarding in preparing students for future success. The piece called attention to the use of Learning.com’s self-paced and adaptive products by K-12 districts. Recently, Learning.com hosted multiple sessions at the TCEA conference (largest nonprofit edtech association) to highlight both the opportunities and challenges in shaping the next generation’s relationship with technology (e.g. "Empowering the Next Generation: Digital Skills for Life, Technical Expertise, and Meaningful Connections"). Finally, Learning.com just announced the appointment of Jesús Jara, a nationally recognized education leader with decades of experience transforming K-12 education, to its Board of Directors. Dr. Jara's extensive background in educational leadership is expected to enhance Learning.com's mission to provide digital literacy skills to historically underserved populations.
Ironhack continues to foster innovation and social impact through strategic partnerships and community-centric events. In collaboration with BAUHAUS Deutschland, a leading European retailer, Ironhack designed an intensive 6-week training program to upskill Fast Track Engineers in Full Stack Development and Cloud Deployment. This hands-on curriculum empowered participants to create real-world tech solutions. Additionally, Ironhack’s December remote Hackshow showcased groundbreaking projects with strong societal and environmental benefits. Winners included the Streamlit app designed to support pediatric ICU nurses with data science and machine learning technology, and Poiscaille, an ecological online fishmonger championing sustainability.
In January, Podium Education released their “2024 in review” that took a look at some of their highlights over the last year. Some of these included: >500,000 students gained access to The Global Career Accelerator through new university partnerships; 50+ companies joined the early career platform, which now offers 4,000+ active roles and was recognized in Forbes; a new partnership with Upwork that helped students secure exciting job opportunities; and 8,000+ students participated in free career events featuring top companies who have partnered with Podium — a cohort which includes DoorDash, Lyft and Wells Fargo as of 2025. These achievements reinforce Podium’s role in bridging education and career success, empowering students with real-world skills and opportunities.
Core Education Services, one of our most recent investments, is a Public Benefit Corporation with a vision to transform the business model of higher education. The company serves as a long-term, mission critical operating partner to colleges, leveraging economies of scale to achieve operational effectiveness, revenue diversification and technological efficiencies. The company utilizes a diverse toolkit to serve its university partners. For example, the company has rolled out workforce development certificates in partnership with AdventHealth University. It offers yield-focused enrollment management services to address enrollment challenges while supporting the broader goal of transforming the underlying education business model. It has also helped colleges utilize real estate as a catalyst for institutional growth by offering stable income, potential appreciation, diversification, and an inflation hedge; in 2024 alone, the company helped partner institutions unlock $40 million in value.
Instructure is a mission-critical educational operating system that schools, institutions, and companies rely on to improve outcomes for students and lifelong learners. The company is positioning itself at the forefront of the next evolution in learning by expanding its AI capabilities and deepening its commitment to accessibility and personalization. This was one of the key strategic initiatives highlighted at its flagship conference, Instruturecon, this fall. As education systems increasingly seek scalable solutions, the company is leveraging AI-powered tools to enhance learning experiences, improve student engagement, and support educators with data-driven insights. Validating the company’s leadership in this area, the California State University (CSU) system recently announced an unprecedented initiative to create an AI-powered higher education system in partnership with ten leading technology companies; Instructure was the only education-focused technology provider named (alongside Google, Intel, Microsoft, NVIDIA, OpenAI and others). The goal of the CSU initiative, which will be launched to 500,000 students, is to ensure that students gain access to cutting-edge, AI-driven adaptive learning platforms.
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