LearnLaunch and McGraw-Hill Team to Support Ed-Tech Innovation in Boston and Beyond

NEW YORK – January 19, 2016 – McGraw-Hill, a learning science company, and LearnLaunch, Boston’s leading organization dedicated to connecting, supporting, and growing the education technology ecosystem, today announced a collaboration to promote innovation in education through the development of learning technology. Through the collaboration, McGraw-Hill will build relationships with some of the country’s most exciting ed-tech startups by providing mentoring and strategic counsel from its leaders and extensive network of in-house developers.

The partnership deepens the existing relationship between LearnLaunch and McGraw-Hill. The two organizations have worked together on an informal basis for several years, with McGraw-Hill providing guidance and financial support to LearnLaunch.

“Through this partnership, LearnLaunch will be able to offer more expertise to the ed-tech startup community to help grow their businesses and transform learning,” said Liam Pisano, managing director of LearnLaunch. “McGraw-Hill Education has not only established itself as a leader in applying the science of learning through technology, it’s been a great supporter of ed-tech innovation in the Boston area and around the world. We’re excited to partner with them and drive innovation in our classrooms, schools and universities.”

The partnership represents McGraw-Hill's latest investment in digital research and development. The Company estimates that it invested $175 million in digital development and operations in 2015. The partnership is also a product of McGraw-Hill's commitment to supporting a culture of learning innovation within the Boston area, where the company opened its digital research and development hub in 2013 and doubled the size of its office in 2014.

“Startups play an important role in the digital ecosystem, and as a ‘125-year-old startup’ ourselves, we feel a kinship with them,” said Stephen Laster, chief digital officer of McGraw-Hill. “LearnLaunch has done a remarkable job in helping early-stage companies grow and develop, and we look forward to guiding them through their efforts to transform teaching and learning.”

Richard Keaveny, McGraw-Hill's vice president of technology partnerships, added, “One of the great things about working with an independent startup accelerator like LearnLaunch is that there are no constraints placed on the startups’ ability to think creatively. We’re excited to collaborate with LearnLaunch to help tackle some of the biggest challenges in education and to see what we’ll be able to achieve through our combined efforts.”

Stephen Laster, McGraw-Hill's chief digital officer, will speak at the fourth annual LearnLaunch Across Boundaries Conference, which will take place on Jan. 21-22, 2016 in Boston. The conference, which will be sponsored in part by McGraw-Hill, will explore how education is moving from digitizing past practice toward more personalized learning through technology.