Juni Learning Raises $10.5 Million Series A to Fill Critical Gap in Distance Learning Nationwide
Company unveils new proprietary Math and English curriculums and pod offerings to meet wide range of student needs Over the past three months, the company has delivered over 50,000 classes and trained hundreds more instructors
Juni Learning, the digital education platform that offers engaging courses for kids taught online by live instructors, today announced it closed $10.5 million in Series A funding prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The rapidly-growing company will use the funds to continue hiring exceptional instructors and expanding the number and types of accessible, high-quality courses for kids 8 – 18 years old across the globe. The round was led by Forerunner Ventures, with participation from AME Cloud Ventures, led by Yahoo Founder Jerry Yang, Index Ventures, and Pear VC.
“We originally started Juni Learning to empower kids by enhancing skills and coding abilities that could prepare them for the future, but the community has become so much more”
The funding has enabled Juni Learning to unveil new curriculums in Math and English, just in time for a new school year. Designed for students grades 6-12, these proprietary curriculums map to Common Core standards in order to supplement, enhance, and reinforce the skills taught in schools across the country. These curriculums will be available through 1:1 sessions as well as learning pods or cohorts of up to four students per class beginning in September 2020.
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“We originally started Juni Learning to empower kids by enhancing skills and coding abilities that could prepare them for the future, but the community has become so much more,” said Vivian Shen, co-founder and CEO of Juni Learning. “Amid the COVID-19 outbreak, millions of kids have been out of school. Maintaining intellectual curiosity and rigorous standards from home has proven to be a massive challenge for schools and parents. Juni Learning is responding to these critical needs by expanding our offerings and hiring even more engaging live instructors who are motivated to reach as many students as possible.”
With the new round of funding, Juni Learning also added and trained hundreds more instructors to meet student needs throughout the pandemic and delivered over 50,000 classes over the last three months alone. Additionally, the company introduced online coding bootcamps, webinars, and group sessions and provided tuition waivers to families of healthcare workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The need for quality online learning solutions, particularly in computer science and math, was already hitting a meaningful inflection point in the existing educational system,” said Eurie Kim of Forerunner Ventures. “In fact, this need will only increase as students are challenged with making up for lost class time and lapses in consistent instruction. Juni Learning developed and refined an exceptional instructional model well before the pandemic, and it can be expanded in powerful ways moving forward to supplement learning and address deficits.”
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Founded by Vivian Shen and Ruby Lee in July 2017, Juni Learning offers a fundamentally different virtual experience to help kids learn in a new and engaging way– from the most basic concepts through advanced computer programming languages like Scratch, Python, and Java. Effective distance learning is part of the company’s DNA, which has been proven by the success of thousands of students nationwide.
Juni Learning has meticulously developed, tested, and refined its curriculums and best practices over the last few years. These curriculums provide a clear roadmap for trackable progress and built-in mechanisms to ensure concepts are mastered before moving forward. Additionally, all Juni Learning instructors, hand-picked from the top universities in the country, are trained in its curriculum delivery so that there is no guesswork. As a result, instructors are free to focus 100% of their attention on teaching and fully engaging kids through private or small group environments.
Drawing on the tenets of mentorship and individualized attention, Juni Learning carefully matches students with instructors based on personality, skill set, and teaching style. While Juni Learning instructors work directly with students, requiring no parental participation, parents and guardians are able to see exactly what kids will learn throughout the course, providing insight and feedback so that parents remain in the loop and can discuss or reinforce concepts.
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