The Big Opportunity in Reimagining Childcare and Learning
At Maveron, we’ve spent years watching billions flow into K-12 ed tech and caregiving— yet, if we’re being honest, computers in the classroom haven't made a dent in student performance. And exits selling through the K12 channel have been underwhelming.
From our vantage point,?the real wins in education and childcare happen when you reinvent the entire experience. Sure, there’s a wave of AI-driven ed tech solutions (Magic School AI, Brisk Learning, etc.), but they face huge hurdles to scale: restricted budgets, slow procurement, and a system that hasn’t fully embraced even basic tech.
If you want to understand what right looks like, instead look at Stride (worth $6B), Bright Horizons (approaching $8B), the University of Phoenix (once over $10B) and Duolingo ($13B) — they didn’t just add software; they created new models that parents and students embraced right away.
We believe the next generation of billion-dollar companies will follow their lead by
1. Capturing high revenue per student:
2. Selling directly to parents:
3. Scaling in a capital-light way:?
4. Leveraging AI for real efficiencies:
Put simply, we see tomorrow’s category-defining companies moving beyond the tired “edtech vendor” label. They’ll look more like tech-enabled schools and micro-schools, childcare providers and full-featured AI-centric curriculum providers — reinventing both the experience and the economics, and creating brands that parents genuinely love (and pay for).
An example of this next generation of provider is Lando, which aims to transform after-school programs for elementary-aged kids from glorified babysitting into truly enriching experiences. We first met and invested in Lando’s founders, Felix Hu and Blake Kavanaugh, back in early 2023. Felix is probably the world's foremost expert in blending the physical and digital to create learning experiences for kids. Blake had the playbook to scale that vision from one city to many.
Parents want more than a safe daycare after the final bell, they want something their kids will get excited about. Lando sessions are each full-on classes — across subjects like coding, robotics and art. And because they offer entire classes, Lando can charge upwards of $2,000 per student per year. But what really stands out is Lando’s tech-enabled, marketplace-like model that enables them to scale quickly, city-by-city.
The backbone of Lando is their AI. It connects instructor onboarding, curriculum delivery, even real-time coaching in the classroom. Since their instructors don’t need advanced qualifications, they can keep costs down. The result is a scalable, capital-light operation that delivers consistent quality.
Lando is just the beginning. If you’re a founder who wants to reinvent how children learn — not by layering tech onto the same old system, but by creating entirely new models — we want to hear from you. We’d love to help you turn that vision into reality.
