AllHere Raises $8 Million Series A to Bring AI-Powered Chatbots to K-12 Schools
First application of conversational AI proven to improve K-12 attendance and engagement
BOSTON, June 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- AllHere, the leader in providing K-12 districts with personalized technology solutions to improve student outcomes, today announced an $8 million series A led by Spero Ventures. The investment round will be used to grow the capabilities of AllHere's conversational artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, the first in the K-12 industry to help schools support students and families to measurably improve student attendance and grades.
"Imagine having access to a highly qualified attendance advisor for every student in a classroom," said Joanna Smith, CEO and Founder of AllHere. "This funding allows us to expand the knowledge-base of our conversational AI chatbot to help students and families get information and support exactly when they need it. This is what our district and school partners are asking for as they strive to re-engage students after a challenging year of remote and hybrid learning."
The past year presented a window of opportunity to move beyond mailings and in-person support to leverage personalized, two-way text messages to improve attendance, the number one indicator of student success in K-12 education. When AllHere launched its first chatbot, schools embraced the service as they faced a crisis in student attendance and engagement issues related to virtual learning. As a result, the number of schools using AllHere grew over 700% in the last year to 8,000 schools across 34 states.
"AllHere is a perfect example of how the pandemic has accelerated innovation in the education industry," said Andrew Parker, General Partner at Spero Ventures. "Joanna and her team have built a product that increases attendance and has the potential to become a key channel for schools and families to communicate with each other at all hours of the day."
AllHere was born out of Founder and CEO Joanna's frustration as a public school teacher and family engagement leader in Boston. Her plans to educate students were stymied by countless absences followed by unanswered mailings and voicemails. AllHere's platform builds on key insights and evidence-based strategies on how to partner with families so that they feel valued as their child's teacher and can more effectively support attendance and learning.
In 2020, AllHere acquired EdNudge, a technology developed by Dr. Peter Bergman at Columbia University's Teachers College to improve K-12 attendance through automated text messages. AllHere's approach has been proven through randomized control trial research to reduce chronic absenteeism by 17%, reduce course failures by 38%, and increase student retention.
"Typical truancy products offer solutions for compliance without getting to the root cause of why students are missing school in the first place," said Ebony Brown, Principal at Rethink Education. "AllHere was built to address the underlying issues of student attendance and will transcend this category by continuing to meet the unique needs of school leaders to retain and engage students across multiple platforms."
In addition to nudging students to show up for class, schools have begun to use AllHere to communicate essential information when it's needed most, including troubleshooting IT problems and sharing up-to-date information on healthcare and school closures. The funding will be invested to further expand the functionality of AllHere's technology and to support the company's accelerated growth.
AllHere's series A investment round included participants from previous rounds like Rethink Education, Gratitude Railroad, Potencia Ventures, and Boston Impact Initiative, as well as new investors including Softbank's Opportunity Fund, Operator Collective, and Yard Ventures. AllHere has raised $12.1 million in investment capital to date.
About AllHere
AllHere combines conversational AI, behavioral science, and interactive nudges to foster attendance and engagement in K-12 education. We automate personalized, two-way text messaging with chatbots to improve attendance rates and guide students and families through school. Our adaptive, evidence-based system provides 24/7 support so that teachers and staff can focus their time on the most meaningful interactions.
For more information, visit AllHere.com.
Contact:
Charlotte Ward
[email protected]
SOURCE AllHere
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