Happy Anniversary, IXL Learning: Celebrating 25 Years of Innovation

Making an entrance
IXL Learning's story started with a simple idea and a bold vision: that technology should be leveraged to revolutionize and deliver world-class learning experiences. Fueled by the belief that innovation would be crucial for solving future challenges in education, Paul Mishkin began coding in his apartment, laying the foundation for what would become IXL Learning.

IXL Learning emerged in 1998 with its first product, Quia Web. The first-of-its-kind website enabled teachers and learners to create and share personalized study materials, including games and flashcards. In 2001, IXL Learning capitalized on its success in digitizing education by launching Quia Books, an interactive textbook and workbook platform complete with an intelligent grading system.

At the time, IXL Learning was a modest operation based in an unheated warehouse next to San Francisco International Airport. Today, it is one of the largest K-12 edtech companies in the world. Its expansive product suite supports learners of all types, offering solutions in areas including math, literacy, language acquisition, tutoring, and early-childhood education.

"IXL Learning has spent the past 25 years evolving, innovating, and most importantly, cultivating a distinct vision that has helped us disrupt the status quo," says Paul Mishkin, Founder & CEO of IXL Learning. "Our belief that we can learn to do anything is one of the reasons we've succeeded. We're a learning company at heart, fueled by exploring big challenges and tackling them with novel approaches to help people reach their full potential."

Headquartered in San Mateo, California, IXL Learning is a global company with more than 1,300 employees spanning the United States, Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Latin America, and the United Kingdom. With teams in multiple continents, the company provides on-the-ground support to school districts, businesses and organizations, and individual learners to help them achieve their goals.

"We've been fortunate to consistently hire exceptionally talented people. They are dedicated, mission-driven, and want those we serve to succeed and develop a life-long love of learning, " says Paul.

Cutting-edge solutions for modern learning
IXL Learning takes a tech-first approach to education, developing innovative and creative methods to address the needs of learners and educators.

Its flagship product, the award-winning IXL platform, was created in 2007 and pioneered modern personalized learning. IXL stands out in the edtech industry by maintaining complete control over its product and curriculum development process, unlike other companies that outsource to third parties. Its in-house teams—a powerful blend of engineers, designers, and subject-matter experts—collaborate to craft engaging products that cater to every learning style.

By owning the entire development process, IXL builds dynamic and effective products that help learners in all 50 U.S. states and 190 countries grow. Today, the IXL platform is used by 15 million students and 1 million educators worldwide to learn K-12 math, language arts, science, social studies, and Spanish. Additionally, learners have collectively answered more than 145 billion questions on IXL.

"What we love about IXL is the focus on growth. Students have access to this platform that is truly tailored to what they need. And it's not just intervention; for students who are working above grade level, it pushes them to keep growing," says Amber Lambert, Director of Intervention and Enrichment at Richardson Independent School District in Richardson, Texas.

"IXL Learning has forged a unique path. We've shown how success is achieved by maintaining a deep connection to our mission at all levels of the company," says Debbie Chang, Vice President of Product at IXL Learning. "I'm particularly proud that we've made learning so much more rewarding for both students and educators, while staying fully committed to rigorous, efficient, and high-quality learning."

Merging of minds
As learners' needs have evolved, so has IXL Learning. The company has strategically grown its family of brands, acquiring 10 edtech companies since 2018, including renowned organizations such as Rosetta Stone, Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com, TPT (formerly Teachers Pay Teachers), Wyzant, and more. Through welcoming these leading brands into its portfolio, IXL Learning provides a robust ecosystem of platforms that empowers K-12 schools, businesses, and lifelong learners to achieve their full potential.

A force for change
IXL Learning aspires to do more than create world-class products—it's on a mission to cultivate a future where every learner can thrive. To realize this ambitious vision, the company has forged strong partnerships with educational institutions, non-profit organizations, Indigenous communities, and businesses that are committed to helping people learn. Together, IXL Learning and its partners collaborate to make a lasting impact on education for all.

"The world is facing extraordinary challenges, but that shouldn't discourage us from believing that we can make a difference. We believe that education is the great equalizer and is a tool that gets people on their feet and closes gaps in society. We will continue using our position to make sure that education remains a powerful tool to help people succeed," says Jennifer Gu, COO at IXL Learning.

Media, please note: Screenshots of IXL Learning's brands may be downloaded at www.ixl.com/company/newsroom/home. For demos and access to IXL Learning products, contact [email protected]. 

About IXL Learning
IXL Learning has revolutionized educational technology since its founding in 1998. Today, the company leads the world of education through innovation and provides a diverse set of products and services that help learners develop skills in math, literacy, language, and more. IXL Learning's brands include IXL, Rosetta Stone, Dictionary.com, Thesaurus.com, SpanishDictionary.com, ingles.com, Emmersion, Wyzant, Vocabulary.com, TPT, ABCya, Education.com, and StudySpanish.com. The company's mission is to create breakthrough solutions to education's most pressing challenges and inspire students to become life-long learners. Discover how IXL Learning's products are shaping the future of education by exploring its newsroom.

Press Contact
Eric Bates
IXL Learning
[email protected]

SOURCE IXL Learning