Best EdTech Companies in Oakland, United States
The 43 best EdTech companies in Oakland, United States in 2026, ranked by funding and momentum. Funding, investors, founders, valuation, tech stack and live signals. Top: Livescribe.
Biggest earners Skillsoft Corp. ($513M, -3% YoY), Instructure Inc ($156M, +12% YoY), Blackboard Inc ($119M), Capella Education Co ($112M, +0% YoY)
Our analysis of 88 EdTech companies
$7.3b in tracked funding; 99% of the stack-profiled cohort runs cloud-native; funding activity peaked in 2025.
Ranked: Best EdTech companies in Oakland
| # | Company | Disclosed funding | Last round | Stage | Founder | Founded | Tech stack | Patents & IP focus | Recent signals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Livescribe Provider of smartpens and mobile computing platforms | $130M | 175 mo ago | Acquired | — | 2007 | Cart FunctionalityShopifyYouTube+26 | 125 patents Smart pen hardware and software for digitizing, organizing, and collaborating on handwritten notes | — |
| 2 | Scientific Learning SaaS platforms for learning English | $22M | 136 mo ago | Acquired | Bob Bowen Chairman And Ceo | 1995 | WordPressMySQLPHP+22 | — | — |
| 3 | Primer Operator of microschool network providing education for kindergarten through eighth grade | $19M | 52 mo ago | Acquired | Adam Debreczeni Co-Founder | 2019 | WebflowSalesforceVimeo+25 | — | — |
| 4 | Kinside Kinside: Connecting families, providers, and employers for accessible childcare solutions | $16M | 50 mo ago | Series A | — | 2018 | SentryRubyErlang+28 | — | — |
| 5 | CareLuLu Connecting parents with quality child care and preschool options | $2M | 141 mo ago | Seed | Evgeniya Usmanova Co-founder & COO | 2013 | ReactAMPAmazon Web Services+9 | — | — |
| 6 | GreatSchools School ratings and reviews platform empowering families to find great schools | $690K | — | Funding Raised | — | 1998 | RubyRuby on RailsMicrosoft ASP.NET+35 | — | 2 partnerships |
| 7 | Cubit Platform to learn STEM subjects | $106K | 134 mo ago | Seed | Jason Gouw Founder & CEO | 2013 | — | 7 patents Adaptive antenna arrays for PN code acquisition and CDMA reverse‑link smart antenna systems | — |
| 8 | Tioki Domain name services, including registration, WHOIS lookup, and parking | $100K | 171 mo ago | Deadpooled | — | 2011 | — | — | — |
Top 12 EdTech companies in Oakland
#1
Series A · Oakland, California · founded 2018 · 15 employees$16.2Mraised▾
Kinside: Connecting families, providers, and employers for accessible childcare solutions. This platform aims to create a more transparent and supportive childcare ecosystem. It offers real-time availability at childcare providers, connecting parents with care options. Childcare providers can connect with families and manage enrollments efficiently. Employers can support working families with childcare benefits. Government agencies gain access to real-time childcare data to improve community outcomes. The platform facilitates finding care, scheduling tours, and managing the childcare search process. It strives to provide universal access to quality childcare for all working parents, addressing the challenges faced by dual-working families. It is a tech company offering a software solution, potentially SaaS, with a social impact focus. The platform includes features like login, search, and provider management tools.
- Jun 2022Series A$12M
- Sep 2020Seed—
- Dec 2019Seed$4M
- Aug 2018Seed$1.1M
#2
Acquired · Oakland, California · founded 2019 · 25 employees$18.7Mraised▾
Operator of microschool network providing education for kindergarten through eighth grade. The network offers learning environments focused on foundational skills and independent learning. The organization provides an admissions process, tuition information, and resources for starting microschools. It aims to empower students to pursue interests through projects.
- Apr 2022Series A$15M
- May 2020Seed$3.7M
#3
Acquired · Oakland, California · founded 2007 · 1 employees$130.3Mraised▾
Provider of smartpens and mobile computing platforms. Its product includes Smartpens (Livescribe 3, Echo, Sky Wifi), Livescribe Dot Paper and Livescribe Desktop. Pulse Smartpen records everything the clients hear and write, as well as synchronizes audio to the written notes. Livescribe Dot Paper is printed with a pattern of tiny micro-dots, which enables the infrared camera at the tip of the Pulse smartpen to track the written notes. Livescribe Desktop allows the digital transfer of notes and recordings from the Pulse smartpen to the personal computer. Its online Application Store allows consumers to download paid and free applications.
- Jan 2012Series C$10M
- Jan 2012Series C$3.3M
- Jul 2011Series C$5.2M
- Feb 2011Series C$186K
#4
Acquired · Oakland, California · founded 1995 · 69 employees$21.8Mraised▾
Scientific Learning provides software solutions for language learning. Solutions include Fast ForWord, platform for providing educational resources focussed on phonological awareness, phonemic awareness, fluency and more. Reading Assistant software, is a platform for speech verification and improvement. Also provides data analysis and reporting tools to monitor each learner. Works on the subscription-based pricing model.
- Apr 2015Post IPO$5M
- Apr 2013Conventional Debt$4.6M
- Apr 2012Post IPO$7.2M
- Nov 2001Post IPO$5M
#5
Seed · Oakland, California · founded 2013 · 4 employees$1.7Mraised▾
Connecting parents with quality child care and preschool options. This platform simplifies the search for licensed child care programs, offering a comprehensive directory with photos, parent reviews, and detailed service information. Parents can easily search by location, age, hours, and tuition to find the perfect fit for their needs. The platform aims to provide easy access to high-quality information, including tuition rates and thorough descriptions, ensuring parents have an authentic impression of every child care provider before scheduling a tour. It serves as an all-in-one resource, saving time and effort in navigating childcare options. The platform also offers resources for both parents and providers, including articles on cost, pros and cons of different care types, and marketing strategies. This is a B2C platform that directly impacts families by providing a valuable service.
- Nov 2014Seed$1.7M
- Aug 2014Seed—
#6
Funding Raised · Oakland, California · founded 1998 · 37 employees$690Kraised▾
School ratings and reviews platform empowering families to find great schools. It is a trusted school search platform providing education information to guide families through their child’s learning journey. The mission is to provide information that supports parents pursuing education for their child, schools striving for excellence, and communities working to diminish inequities in education. It equips families with the information they need to choose schools and advocate for their children. School profiles and ratings help them see how well schools serve all students, while the library of parenting resources offers guidance to help children thrive. It offers resources to help them support their children’s education and development. The platform collects and analyzes data to deliver information on public, charter, and private schools nationwide. It highlights learning opportunities, amplifies parent perspectives, and helps educators better understand their communities. It is a not-for-profit organization with a social impact.
- Grant (prize money)$690K
#7
Seed · Oakland, California · founded 2013 · 4 employees$105.7Kraised▾
Developer of programmable technologies designed to bring innovation and inspiration into classrooms. The company offers versatile lessons, kits, training and software that are designed to nurture learning in a wide array of in-school and out-of-school settings and grade levels, enabling students to take control and drive the learning process.
#8
Deadpooled · Oakland, California · founded 2011 · 1 employees$100Kraised▾
Domain name services, including registration, WHOIS lookup, and parking. The company facilitates domain acquisition through registration services and offers tools to identify domain ownership. It provides a platform for domain owners to monetize unused domains through parking programs. The business model caters to individuals and organizations seeking to establish or manage their online presence. It offers resources for domain-related activities, such as domain valuation and transfer. The company acts as an intermediary, connecting domain owners with advertisers. The services are essential for anyone involved in website development, online marketing, or digital asset management.
- May 2012Seed$100K
#9
Deadpooled · Oakland, California · founded 2013$48Kraised▾
Online networking platform for music learners
#10
Seed · Oakland, California · founded 2013 · 10 employees—raised▾
Cloud identity and access management solutions for education, research, and enterprise. The company provides streamlined single sign-on (SSO) solutions, simplifying access to applications for all institutional end-users. They offer a suite of products designed to address identity and access management challenges, including solutions for authentication providers, external user sign-in, trusted federated access, and extending applicant sign-in. Their offerings facilitate secure logins, protocol translation, and integration with services like InCommon and eduGAIN. They cater to a diverse range of stakeholders, including students, researchers, faculty, alumni, and more, across various sectors like higher education and research institutions. The company focuses on improving user experience, seamless integration, and reduced expenses through cloud consolidation and zero trust architecture. They offer a managed solution that enables login to applications with different protocols.
- May 2016Seed—
- Nov 2015Seed—
#11
Acquired · Oakland, California · founded 1998 · 254 employees—raised▾
Academic integrity solutions empowering educators and students to do original work. The company provides technology that promotes honesty, consistency, and fairness in education. It offers a suite of products designed to uphold academic and research integrity, streamline feedback and grading, prevent plagiarism, and deliver secure assessments. Their solutions cater to diverse needs, from higher education to secondary education, research, and publication. They leverage AI-powered workflows and tools to address AI writing, promote original thinking, and ensure the originality of scholarly work. The company's offerings include a plagiarism checker, feedback studio, and assessment platforms. They provide resources and support to educators, fostering a culture of integrity and advancing learning outcomes. The company is a SaaS provider in the EdTech space.
- Oct 2014PE—
#12
Acquired · Oakland, California · founded 2012 · 30 employees—raised▾
Schoolzilla provides a SaaS data and business intelligence platform that enables teachers, principals, and district leaders to gain insights into the academic and operational effectiveness and to take action to increase student achievement. Merges data from dozens of disparate sources such as attendance, test scores, online learning tools, human resources, and financial accounting and provides analysis and reporting to people in schools. Lets schools connect with other schools and share best practices Has a dashboard library that gives access to interactive dashboards.
- 2014Seed—
- Seed—
Funding & investor landscape
Notable founders
Market landscape — 10 sub-themes by coverage
Share of EdTech coverage by sub-theme.
Regulatory-risk over time rising
Funding & growth over time
funding rising · growth rising
How research on Education Technology is moving in the United States
A read on the academic research around Education Technology — which themes are gaining ground, the institutions and researchers driving them, and how the tone is shifting. Based on 4,451 United States-affiliated papers.
- Purdue University West Lafayette107
- North Carolina State University61
- Michigan State University61
- University of Florida57
- Carnegie Mellon University56
- Adaptive learning3→51
- Analytics2→42
- Learning analytics6→44
- Educational technology6→37
- Artificial neural network1→27
- Educational technology84→423
- Experiential learning13→154
- Higher education4→126
- Curriculum23→137
- Learning analytics28→135
- Educational technology79→257
- Higher education7→109
- Professional development11→74
- Curriculum19→74
- Transformative learning2→55
Where edtech is researched across United States
Location clusters by institution affiliation — each city's volume, stance tone, and a quick read on its hot topic, what's advancing, the opening opportunity, and the main concern.
Who's filing edtech patents in the United States
United States edtech patent filing is accelerating — 2,649 filings from 804 assignees (2016–2025), led by Google, Microsoft, Adobe; annual filings 32→533.
- Google131
- Microsoft123
- Adobe110
- Equifax107
- IBM94
- Oracle64
- Capital One Services58
- Qualcomm55