CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — April 13, 2021 — Area9 Lyceum, a developer of world-class adaptive learning platforms, announced today they have received a strategic investment from LEGO Ventures, the LEGO® Brand’s venture capital arm.
Jamie Beaumont, managing director, LEGO Ventures comments: “We are delighted to be investing in Area9 Lyceum and their commitment to pushing the boundaries in how learners develop beyond knowledge and towards skills, character and meta-learning, in a way that is very much aligned with our LEGO® vision for Learning through Play. Enabling platforms are key in the transition towards more progressive, project-based pedagogies, and Area9 Lyceum has built market leading technologies that support truly adaptive learning and capture all these aspects of learner development. We are very excited to see the potential of Area9 Lyceum, particularly in supporting learning for schoolchildren across K-12.”
Beyond LEGO Ventures’ financial investment, Jamie Beaumont joins the Area9 Board of Directors. He brings expertise in finance and operations, as well as LEGO Ventures’ commitment to the future of learning, creativity, and play.
In addition, Bo Stjerne Thomsen, Chair of Learning Through Play and Vice Chair of the LEGO Foundation, will become a member of Area9’s Advisory Board, where he joins Advisory Board members such as author and researcher Angela Duckworth; Bror Saxberg, Head of Learning Science at the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative; and Tony Wagner, author of the bestsellers Creating Innovators, The Achievement Gap, and Most Likely to Succeed.
“It is with honor and humility that we enter into this relationship with LEGO Ventures. Not only is the LEGO® Brand among the world’s most respected brands, but its commitment to learning through play is directly in line with our vision for the future of learning,” said Ulrik Juul Christensen, M.D., chairman and CEO of Area9 Lyceum. “There is a natural synergy between our two organizations, particularly around the importance of education and curiosity to engage learners at all levels and from all backgrounds.”
LEGO Venture’s investment in Area9 Lyceum is part of a funding round that also included the European Investment Bank and the Danish Growth Fund and several family offices and private investors. Capital raised will enable Area9 Lyceum to accelerate the development of and market expansion for the company’s next-generation infrastructure for 21st century learning, Area9 Rhapsode™.
About LEGO Ventures: Founded in 2018, LEGO Ventures is the venture capital arm of the LEGO Brand, focusing on the future of education and digital play. LEGO Ventures explores investment opportunities at the intersection of Play, Learning and Creativity to leverage and develop the original LEGO® Idea and support the LEGO Brand mission “to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow.” Learn more at www.legoventures.com.
About Area9 Lyceum: Area9 Lyceum brings together more than two decades of learning research and advanced computer science in its next-generation learning platforms for K-12, higher education, and workforce education. As a leader in personalized and adaptive learning, as well as comprehensive infrastructure for learning engineering, design, delivery and analytics at scale, Area9 Lyceum enables clients to realize the future of personalized, multidimensional learning: mastery-based learning. A mastery-based approach enables learners to become proficient in the knowledge and skills that are highly relevant to them, their teams, and organizations. The technologies developed by Area9 are used by millions of learners of all ages and by leading organizations and companies around the world.
