Empowerly, an edtech startup focusing on college counseling and career guidance, has secured $15 million in funding led by Conductive Ventures, totaling $30 million raised to date. This investment will enhance its AI-driven services and develop a mobile app for U.S. launch by end-2024. Amidst a tough startup funding climate, Empowerly's success is attributed to its innovative use of data and machine learning, leveraging former Ivy League admissions officers to improve student outcomes. With college admissions growing more competitive, Empowerly offers comprehensive support, including essay editing, financial planning, and internship prep. Its unique Empowerly Score uses machine learning to evaluate and advise students on improving their applications, standing out in the challenging college admission landscape.

Funds will be used to expand its advanced college counseling services, build out its artificial intelligence and machine learning optimizations, scale its team of admissions experts, and enhance its data team

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 21, 2024 Empowerly, a data-driven education technology company that provides personalized college and career guidance, today announced it has raised a $15 million financing round led by Conductive Ventures. The new funding will be used to continue expanding Empowerly's college counseling services with a focus on building out its artificial intelligence and machine learning product optimizations, such as the AI-powered Empowerly Score's predictive capabilities, scaling its team of admissions experts and data analytics, and preparing for the launch of a mobile app. To date, Empowerly has raised $30 million from investors, including Conductive Ventures, Goodwater Capital, FJ Labs, Scrum Ventures, Translink Capital, American Student Assistance, Spero Ventures, and Mentors Fund.

Since its launch in 2018, Empowerly has built a network of over 100 world-class college counselors with over 720 collective years of academic guidance and admissions experience. With over 122,550 college applications read and reviewed, the company has helped thousands of students get accepted into their dream schools. The Empowerly Score — the only predictive technology that can also quantify subjective material — provides students with a 360-degree view of how to be competitive against other applicants. During the latest admissions cycle, an Empowerly student was admitted to every Ivy League college, including Harvard, Princeton, Yale, and Brown. To date, 94% of Empowerly students with a 3.6+ GPA have been accepted into a top 50 school, including all eight Ivy League colleges plus Stanford, MIT,  UChicago, Duke, Northwestern, Carnegie Mellon, UC Berkeley, and many others.

Empowerly co-founders Changxiao Xie and Hanmei Wu

"Empowerly remains committed to providing every student with the resources, guidance, and expertise to navigate an incredibly challenging college admissions landscape," said Hanmei Wu, co-founder of Empowerly. "The average college application process can take up to 200 hours and is notoriously overwhelming for students and parents alike. We're excited to use this latest funding to further scale our counseling services to help even more students, lessening the pressure on families so they can focus on the excitement around this pivotal time in their lives."

In July 2023, Empowerly joined the Sequoia marketplace to offer their college and career counseling services as an employee benefit - providing working parents with a valuable resource to navigate the complexities of the college admissions process and make informed financial decisions. In November 2023, the company released its first book, "Empowerly Expert's Handbook to College Admissions," a compelling how-to providing insights, anecdotal case studies, and expert advice from admissions experts and former admissions officers to help parents and students navigate the American higher education system. The company's long-term vision is to continue scaling its college counseling services in order to give every student the resources and expertise they need to navigate the college admissions process and achieve their dream of personal academic success.

"The past year has been challenging for the entire startup ecosystem, and some are saying this has been one of the worst funding environments in the past decade," said Changxiao Xie, co-founder of Empowerly. "This round is a testament to the platform and services we've created, from our recruitment of former Ivy League admissions officers to the ways we've leveraged data and machine learning to evaluate and improve students' outcomes from high school to college and beyond. We're working with more students and families than ever before and seeing fantastic outcomes year over year, and are excited to keep up the momentum."

"Empowerly continues to prove itself as the leader in technology-powered college counseling, and we are honored to work with them to continue democratizing the college admissions process for all," said Carey Lai, Founding Member and Managing Director at Conductive Ventures. "The passion that the entire Empowerly team has for student success, paired with their immense wealth of knowledge and experience, has created a truly unique, valuable, and highly effective product. As a parent, customer, and investor, I look forward to being a part of this journey to evolve and elevate the college and career landscape."

About Empowerly

Empowerly is a data-driven education technology company that provides personalized college and career guidance to students and their families. To date, Empowerly has raised $30 million from investors, including Conductive Ventures, Goodwater Capital, FJ Labs, Scrum Ventures, Translink Capital, American Student Assistance, Spero Ventures, and Mentors Fund. The company's mission is to empower students to become the most successful version of themselves. From college preparation, landing internships, and beyond, Empowerly supports students in achieving their academic and career goals. To learn more, visit www.empowerly.com.