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Tutoring software company gets $14 million investment

Oakland-based Carnegie Learning Inc., which develops software tutoring programs for secondary schools and colleges, has received an injection of $14 million in new investment, allowing it to double its product offerings with a middle school program.

The educational technology company, founded in 1998 as a spin-off from Carnegie Mellon University, received the investment from Carnegie Mellon, Collier Investments Ltd. and Draper Triangle Ventures.

"The company has products that are so tremendous, that are dramatically changing the way children learn math," said Jay Katarincic, managing director of investment firm Draper Triangle Ventures, "that we felt that it was a very, very valuable piece of proprietary property."

Katarincic said the institutional and financial backing of Carnegie Mellon has been "invaluable" to the company's success, and added that he expects Carnegie Learning to reach profitability "in the next 12 months."

The company has received a license from the university to exclusively market the Cognitive Tutor middle school math curricula. The comprehensive technology-enhanced learning program is being added to the existing curricula being used in 35 of the largest school districts in the country.

The expansion comes at the same time that Robert Longo, the company's president and CEO, announced his resignation to join the Boston firm of Emerald Partners. Longo will continue to consult with the company while the board of directors conducts a national search for his successor. In the meantime, William Hadley, chief academic officer, will serve as interim president.

Carnegie Learning, which last week was awarded "Rising Star" status by the Pittsburgh Technology Council, last year received a $2 million grant from the Heinz Endowments to the Regional Math/Science Collaborative.

The company was also featured at the National Education Summit as one of the best results-based curricula in the country.