Hundred of education technology capitalists and executives attend and meet at the lobby of the Phoenician Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona this week. They join forces and sit down at the annual education technology conference with full view of their competitors.
A highlight: An online skills training company for technology professionals, Pluralsight, with its executive, Aaron Skonnard, sat down with a company that helps other companies in analyzing, tracking and managing skills development courses, which are taken by their employees, Degreed, with its chief executive, David Blake.
A partner at Learn Capital, Michael Staton, said that Degreed has the most superior content scoring algorithm for online programs.
Learn Capital is a venture capital company that funds education startups.
An effort that was first realized six years ago as a simple event in which education technology investors gather to see about 50 presentations from new companies, the yearly ASU+GSV Summit conference, an effort from the GSV Capital and Arizona State University, is a success for the education technology sector.
Through the years, it has transformed to become the main event for companies and investors looking for the next top player in the education technology industry, serving as the melting pot for top executives from Microsoft, Google, Kapor Capital, NewSchools Venture Fund, McGraw-Hill Education, Pearson and new industry players.
About 270 companies, represented by either founders or chief executives, are presenting this year.