SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Prisms VR, a learning platform pioneering a new paradigm for math education, has raised $12.5 million in Series A from Andreessen Horowitz to accelerate math literacy in the United States- United. Prisms was launched in 2021 to bring tactile and visual problem-based learning to the math classroom and is the first educational technology platform to leverage virtual reality (VR) to accelerate math skills in American schools.
Learning math in virtual reality is the best way for students to understand the “why” behind math, a question left unanswered for many. Already adopted by more than 100 school districts in 26 states, Prisms provides meaningful, goal-oriented math teaching and learning to more than 80,000 students in districts large and small. From rural areas to big cities, students have the opportunity to learn abstract concepts they typically memorize, through real-world tactile experiences that are both inspiring and effective.
“Finding effective educational technology on a large scale is difficult. We believe that Anurupa and his team have pioneered a new approach, able to leverage VR technology to teach students the way they learn best,” said Jeff Jordan, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz. “We are thrilled to be a partner, as Prisms not only continues to have a massive impact on students across the country, but also paves the way for the future of education. »
Anurupa Ganguly founded Prisms to address the huge shortage of relevant math learning solutions that has led to stubbornly low proficiency rates in the United States for decades. As a professor of mathematics and physics in Boston, Ganguly found that the American education system does not allow students to use the multiple modalities by which human beings make sense, reason and deepen their understanding of the world around them. .
“Technology has let our students down, especially when it comes to math. With new developments in immersive technology, we have the opportunity to make learning experiential and connected to students’ lives,” said Anurupa Ganguly, Founder and CEO of Prisms. “Prisms is the first learning solution that allows students to experience real issues with their bodies rather than reading about them independent of personal experience. They are then able to construct abbreviated abstractions from intuitive visual and tactile experiences that lead to lasting retention and deeper understanding.
Prisms intends to use funds from this latest round to accelerate the growth and adoption of its product and team. The funds will also be used to expand the programs to more schools across the United States and for product development in higher education and other subjects.
“While education is VR’s most powerful use case, we haven’t seen disruptive VR learning tools transform formal classroom settings, until Mathematics education is going to be the killer app for virtual reality,” Ganguly continued.
The Prisms VR Math Content Module is available to parents, guardians, and teachers with a 7-day free trial through the Meta Quest store and $24 through an annual subscription model.
To learn more about how Prisms is changing the way students learn math, click here.
To better understand the technology problem at the heart of America’s math divide, check out this report from Prisms.
About Prisms
Prisms, founded in 2020, is at the forefront of effective virtual reality learning experiences. Supported by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, Prisms is the premier spatial learning platform for K-12 STEM education, scaling a new way to learn math and the basic sciences that updates the pedagogies we know best. To learn more about Prisms, visit www.prismsvr.com.