Empowerly, a leading edtech startup specializing in college counseling and career guidance services, announced today that it has raised $15 million in a recent funding round led by Conductive Ventures. With this new capital, the company plans to expand its services, enhance its AI-powered products, and launch its first mobile app in the U.S. by the end of 2024. To date, Empowerly has raised a total of $30 million.
Co-founder Changxiao Xie stated, “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’s funding comes at a time when college admissions are becoming increasingly competitive, and high school counselors may not always be equipped to provide expert advice on college-related issues. According to Common App’s Research Brief, there has been a substantial surge in college applications, with 3,353,516 applications sent for the 2023–24 academic year, up 65% from 2019–20.
Image Credits: Empowerly
Co-founder Hanmei Wu expressed, “Last year was one of the most competitive college admissions seasons of all time. Yet, students still aren’t getting the right support. The counselor-to-student ratio is over 400-to-1, and students are feeling left behind just like I did years ago.”
Founded in 2018, Empowerly aims to alleviate the pressure on students by providing a range of services, including college counseling, essay editing, financial planning, admissions reviews, and internship prep. Pricing for each service varies, but the company’s “comprehensive counseling packages” are typically $5,000 and above.
Image Credits: Empowerly
Empowerly’s proprietary technology, The Empowerly Score, sets it apart from competitors. This scoring system evaluates a student’s extracurricular activities, achievements, academics, and essays and leverages predictive machine-learning models to generate a single score, providing insight into areas for improvement.
Additionally, Empowerly offers several experience-focused programs for students to enhance their college applications and joined the Sequoia marketplace in July 2023, providing its services as an employee benefit to working parents.
