EdtechReview.in recently reported on Swing Education’s Series C funding round, which saw the San Francisco-based online staffing marketplace for substitute teachers receive $38M from Apax Partners LLP and Reach Capital.
Established in 2015 by Mike Teng, Oz Feng, and Asha Visweswaran, Swing Education strives to make the process of connecting reliable and qualified substitutes with K-12 schools easier. With the new funding, the startup will be able to expand its pool of substitute teachers and school district partners across the regions Swing Education already serves, such as California, Arizona, Texas, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C. Furthermore, the company plans to expand to new regions in 2024.
Swing Education’s CEO Mike Teng commented on the Series C funding round: “We’re thrilled to have Apax Partners and Reach Capital as strategic investors. The need for substitute teachers is acute. This additional funding highlights the current strain on our schools and positions Swing to grow our impact, placing even more substitute teachers in even more classrooms.”
In the 2022-23 school year, Swing Education has already supported over 2,800 school partners in filling more than one million instructional hours with substitute teachers.
David Su, Partner of Apax Global Impact, pointed out the significance of Swing Education’s business by noting: “Swing Education is a truly impactful business, bringing much-needed digitalization to the substitute teacher staffing marketplace and making matching talent with schools easier and more efficient. We’re incredibly excited to partner with Mike and the broader team to help grow the business and execute our joint vision for the company.”
Steve Kupfer, Venture Partner of Reach Capital, added: “Beyond broadening and diversifying staffing pools, Swing’s distinct marketplace model provides upskilling opportunities and unlocks innovative pathways to the teaching profession. Each of these goals aligns with our mission as education investors. We are thrilled to support the Swing team through this next growth stage.”
In 2018, Swing Education had previously raised $15 million in a Series B fundraise co-led by Owl Ventures and GV (formerly Google Ventures).
For teachers, this news serves as a reminder that new opportunities are arising in the edtech space to help address the teacher shortage and provide reliable substitutes for classrooms. Swing Education’s use of technology to improve how people work and connect substitute teachers with schools is an inspiring example of how edtech can help solve human problems.
