Applications are being accepted now through February 16 for Ed-Tech Startups working to close the homework gap

The global pandemic has shown how vital connectivity is to successful learning. But connectivity alone is not enough to keep students engaged in learning, especially in a remote or hybrid setting. High quality educational tools that supplement and enrich classroom lessons can help students stay engaged and more importantly, excited, about learning.

What’s the news? Applications for the 2021 AT&T Aspire Accelerator are being accepted now through February 16.  We’re looking for both for and non-profit ed-tech startups creating innovative online solutions that help close the homework gap and keep young people connected to high quality education, inside and outside of the classroom. Upon selection into the 6-month program, each company will receive $125,000* and access to AT&T’s senior executives and mentoring from leaders in education and tech entrepreneurship.

Applications may be submitted here until Feb. 16^th.

Why is this important? Previous Accelerator program participants – 70% women-led companies and 51% minority-led companies – have been tremendously successful since their participation and graduation from the Accelerator. ** Here are a few examples:

• When CommonLit founder Michelle Brown joined the Accelerator in 2016, her platform had fewer than 20k users.  They now serve more than 13M students and almost 1M teachers dedicated to improving adolescent literacy.
  
• The Zoobean founders have experienced 525% growth since graduating from the Accelerator in 2018 and also count Mark Cuban as one of their investors. Their web application and mobile app are licensed by over 1,000 public libraries and schools in the United States, Canada, and Australia.
  
• Boddle’s gamified educational math platform experienced 1000x growth last year and has been selected for the 2021 Startups to Watch list. 

The eight startups selected into this year’s class will build on a history of innovation that began with the Accelerator’s creation in 2015. Whether through free online learning libraries, science-based gamification or virtual reality field trips, the 40-plus startups that have participated in the program have enriched the lives of more than 45 million young people, driving ed-tech adoption and creating equity in education.

^{_{* Each participant receives 100,000 AT&T Aspire investment and an additional $25,000 to cover costs associated with the program.}}

^{_{** Future participants’ results may vary.  Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.}}