INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Labster, a virtual science lab edtech company, today announced that it is partnering with California community college network to bring its
software to 2.1 million students.
California Community Colleges claims to be the largest system of higher education in the country
The Labster partnership will provide 115 schools with 130 virtual laboratory simulations in biology, chemistry, physics and general
sciences.
As COVID-19 has forced schools to shutter, edtech companies have largely responded by offering their software for free or through
What new and notable about Labster partnership today is that it shows the first few signs of how that momentum can lead to a business
deal.
Based in Copenhagen, Labster sells virtual STEM labs to institutions
The startup has raised $34.7 million in known venture capital to date, according to Crunchbase data
Labster customers include California State University, Harvard, Gwinnett Technical College, MIT, Trinity College and Stanford.
Lab equipment
is expensive, and budget constraints mean that schools struggle to afford the latest technology
So Labster value proposition is that it is a cheaper alternative (plus, if students spill a testing vial in a virtual lab, there less clean
up).
That pitch has slightly changed since COVID-19 forced schools across the world to shut down to limit the spread of the pandemic
Now, it pitching itself as the only currently viable alternative to science labs.
For many edtech companies, the surge of remote learning
has been a large experiment
Often, edtech companies are giving away their product and technology for free to help as schools scramble to move operations completely
digital.
For example, last week self-serve learning platforms Codecademy, Duolingo, Quizlet, Skillshare and Brainly launched a Learn From
Home Club for students and teachers
Before that, Wize made its exam content and homework services available for free
And Zoom offered its video-conferencing software for free to K through 12 schools, which had mixed results.
Labster itself gave $5 million
in free Labster credits to schools across the country
The list continues.
Labster new deal shows edtech companies can secure new customers right now — without breaking the bank.
Labster CEO
and co-founder Michael Bodekaer declined to give specifics on what the deal is worth
He did share that Labster works with schools one by one to understand how much they can, or want to, invest in teacher training and webinar
He also confirmed that Labster does profit from the deal.
&We want to make sure that we set ourselves up for supporting our partners but
still also make sure that Labster as a financial institution can pay our salaries,& Bodekaer said
&But again, heavy discounts that help us cover our costs.&
The long game for Labster, like many edtech companies, is that schools like the
platform so much that these short-term stints have a better chance to lead to long-term relationships.
&We&ll be keeping these discounts as
long as we possibly can sustain as a company,& he said
&It looks like initially the discount was until August and now we&re extending it until the end of the year
If that continues, we may extend it even further.&
Pricing aside, the real struggle toward implementation for Labster, and honestly any
other edtech company focused on remote learning, is the digital divide
Some students do not have access to a computer for video conferencing or even internet connection for assignments.
The COVID-19 pandemic has
highlighted how many households across America lack access to the technology needed for remote learning
In California, Google donated free Chromebooks and 100,000 mobile hotspots to students in need.
Bodekaer said that Labster is currently
working on providing its software on mobile, and has worked with Google to make sure its product works on low-end computers like
Chromebooks.
&We really want to be hardware agnostic and support any system or any platform that the students already have,& he said
&So that hardware does not become a barrier.&
While today partnership brings 2.1 million students access to Labster technology, it does not
directly account for the percentage of that same group that might not have access to a computer in the first place
The true test, and perhaps success, of edtech will rely on a true hybrid of hardware and software, not one or the other.
