DreamBox Learning is an American online software provider that focuses on

mathematics education In contemporary education, mathematics education, known in Europe as the didactics or pedagogy of mathematics – is the practice of teaching, learning and carrying out scholarly research into the transfer of mathematical knowledge. Although re ...

at the elementary and middle school level. DreamBox Learning provides pre-

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

through 8th-grade students with over 2,000 lessons presented as animated adventures, games, and challenges. In August 2023, it was announced DreamBox had been acquired by the

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

-headquartered

education technology Educational technology (commonly abbreviated as edutech, or edtech) is the combined use of computer hardware, software, and educational theory and practice to facilitate learning. When referred to with its abbreviation, edtech, it often refer ...

company, Discovery Education (backed by Clearlake Capital Group), for an undisclosed amount.

History

In 2006, DreamBox Learning was founded in

Bellevue, Washington Bellevue ( ) is a city in the Eastside region of King County, Washington, United States, located across Lake Washington from Seattle. It is the third-largest city in the Seattle metropolitan area and has variously been characterized as ...

by the CEO and serial entrepreneur Lou Gray, and former

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washi ...

employee Ben Slivka. In 2010, DreamBox Learning was acquired by the

Charter School Growth Fund The Charter School Growth Fund (CSGF) is a Broomfield, Colorado-based nonprofit philanthropic venture capital fund that identifies the country's best public charter schools, funds their expansion, and helps to increase their impact. CSGF is driv ...

. The acquisition was sponsored by

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

CEO

Reed Hastings Wilmot Reed Hastings Jr. (born October 8, 1960) is an American billionaire businessman. He is the co-founder, chairman, and co-chief executive officer (CEO) of Netflix, and sits on a number of boards and non-profit organizations. A former member ...

through a program-related investment. Jessie Woolley-Wilson became president and CEO of DreamBox Learning shortly after the acquisition. The software was designed for students outside the classroom to augment their mathematics education and

school districts A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary and secondary schools in various nations. North America United States In the U.S, most K–12 public schools function as units of local school districts, whic ...

seeking to enhance their mathematics curriculum. In 2012, the firm offered free trial

licensing A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

of lessons aligned with the

Common Core State Standards Initiative The Common Core State Standards Initiative, also known as simply Common Core, is an educational initiative from 2010 that details what K–12 students throughout the United States should know in English language arts and mathematics at the conc ...

to all schools within the United States. The company released a free iOS app, DreamBox Math Learning program, in 2013. In 2014, the firm launched its Adaptive Math Curriculum for students in grades six through eight, with topics including basic functions, geometry, single-variable algebra, and ratios. Also in 2014, the International Society for Technology Education reported that DreamBox added the

Spanish language Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a global language with more than 500 million native speakers, mainly in the ...

support to its adaptive math software for students in grades K-8. In 2016, the company updated its K-8 math curriculum with the ability to create custom assignments for individual students.

Funding

DreamBox has raised money through at least the following funding rounds. # US$7.1M Seed, October 2007 # US$11M Series A, December 2011 – three investors:

Kleiner Perkins Kleiner Perkins, formerly Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), is an American venture capital firm which specializes in investing in incubation, early stage and growth companies. Since its founding in 1972, the firm has backed entrepreneurs ...

, and GSV Capital. # US$14.5M Series A, December 2013 – led by

and

John Doerr L. John Doerr (born June 29, 1951) is an American investor and venture capitalist at Kleiner Perkins in Menlo Park, California. In February 2009, Doerr was appointed a member of the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board to provide the P ...

. # US$10M Series B, 2015 – led by Owl Ventures. # US$130M Series C, July 2018 # US$210M Series D, May 2023. DreamBox Learning is partnered with the education startup Clever Inc. In 2016, The Center for Education Policy Research at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

performed a study that found a positive correlation between using DreamBox's adaptive learning and test scores, but could not state for certain that this was the result of using the computer program, despite attempting to control for student motivation or quality of instruction.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:DreamBox Learning Education companies of the United States Software companies of the United States Companies based in Bellevue, Washington Software companies established in 2006