Cloud-based education software vendor PowerSchool is being taken private by investment firm Bain Capital in a $5.6 billion deal.
The announcement comes amid a swathe of take-private deals led by private equity firms seeking a bargain on under-performing enterprise software firms.
Founded in 1997, PowerSchool is a web-based platform that helps educational institutions manage areas of their operations such as enrollment, grades, attendance, and communication with parents and students.
The company went public on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in 2021, after previously been acquired by private equity firms Onex and Vista.
“When we think about our nation’s IP and leadership globally, it’s synonymous with leadership in space,” Stricklan told me in an interview before the occasion.
To that end Space Workforce 2030 has started with the basics: collecting and understanding the data in order to establish a baseline.
Stricklan told me that thousands of teachers have signed on and they expect to see a lot of engagement next month.
They have different touchpoints to get to those that just don’t understand there could be a future for them in a STEM-related career.” Stricklan told me.
You can learn more about the Space Workforce 2030 effort here.
In an e-mail exchange, Babylon Micro-Farms CEO Alexander Olesson tells me “we’ll have these in every school and apartment one day.” It’s a nice vision, and really the level of belief/commitment required to run a startup – particularly in a field as oft-fraught at vertical farming.
With a price point of $6,500, howver, the STEM Garden isn’t likely arriving in too many homes in the near term.
Virginia-based Babylon Micro-farms has long distinguished itself from much of the vertical farming world with its focus on smaller spaces and the new system further shrinks that footprint.
Where previous models were focused on higher ed, the STEM Garden is specifically tackling K-9, which tends not to have as deep pockets.
The STEM garden is up for pre-order starting today and will start shipping to classes in Q2.
