What New Markets Venture Partners does

New Markets Venture Partners is a private, growth-stage venture capital firm founded in the 1990s and headquartered in Fulton, Maryland, that invests in technology-enabled education and workforce companies across North America. The firm pursues a double bottom-line mandate, targeting market-rate financial returns alongside measurable social impact, particularly for low-income, minority, and underserved learners and workers. New Markets typically invests at Series A and beyond, preferring companies that have demonstrated product-market fit and crossed $2 million in revenue, and it actively builds relationships with founders before they raise Series A.

The firm's core offering is capital plus strategic value-add: portfolio companies receive board-level governance, operational support, partnership introductions across the firm's network of states, districts, universities, large employers, co-investors, and workforce organizations, and access to an Advisory Board of more than 30 sector operators. Over its 20-plus-year history, New Markets has made 47 investments representing $3.3 billion in aggregate portfolio enterprise value, realized 29 investments, and claims 75 million lives improved through portfolio company outcomes. Notable exits include Credly (acquired by Pearson for $200 million in January 2022), Learn Platform (acquired by Instructure in December 2022), Signal Vine (acquired by ModernCampus in December 2021), Kickboard (acquired by PowerSchool in November 2021), and PresenceLearning (acquired by The Rise Fund and Spectrum Equity in December 2021).

The business model is a traditional venture capital limited partnership structure. New Markets generates revenue from management fees on committed capital (a 2018 fund close raised $68 million from ACT, the Lumina Foundation, and Strada Education Network) and from carried interest on profitable realizations. The firm is owned and operated by its founding partners, led by Co-Founder and General Partner Robb Doub, with a lean 1–10 person investment and operations team. New Markets does not develop or sell proprietary technology products; its distribution and deal-sourcing advantages flow from sector specialization, LP relationships, and decades of accumulated brand equity in North American education and workforce technology investing.

Name

New Markets Venture Partners

Legal name

New Markets Venture Partners

Website

https://newmarketsvp.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

New Markets Venture Partners is a Maryland-based venture capital firm that invests growth-stage capital in education and workforce technology companies across North America, targeting market-rate returns alongside measurable social impact for underserved learners and workers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital and Private Equity

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282), Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211)

akta.pro primary industry

Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists) (FSANAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Late-Stage Venture Capital (Series C+) (FSANAAAC)

Keywords

• Venture capital investing
• Education technology
• Workforce development
• Growth stage investing
• Impact investing

Headquarters

HQ city

Fulton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Venture Capital Returns: As a double bottom-line venture capital investor, New Markets generates returns through traditional VC mechanisms including management fees on committed capital and carried interest on investment profits. Their focus on education and workforce technology companies with proven solutions and measurable social impact drives both financial returns and positive outcomes.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

New Markets Venture Partners is a growth-stage, double bottom-line venture capital firm that invests at the Series A stage and beyond in education and workforce technology companies. The firm provides equity capital, strategic partnerships, board representation, and operational guidance to portfolio companies that have demonstrated product-market fit and typically exceed $2M in revenue. Investment returns are generated through traditional venture capital mechanisms while pursuing measurable social impact in education and workforce outcomes.

Product overview

New Markets Venture Partners is a growth-stage, double bottom-line venture capital firm specializing in education and workforce technology investments. As an investor, the firm does not develop or sell its own products or services; rather, it provides capital and strategic support to portfolio companies. The firm's portfolio includes companies across various EdTech sectors including student success platforms (Knack), financial aid management (Regent Education), workforce intelligence (Censia), mental health services (FamilyWell Health, Mantra Health), digital credentials (Pathstream), correctional education (Orijin), and online learning (Nexford University, CreatorUp).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Growth-Stage Venture Capital Fund (Education and Workforce Technology) A privately managed venture capital fund that invests at the Series A stage and beyond in education and workforce technology companies with proven product-market fit and typically over $2M in revenue. Provides equity capital, board representation, strategic guidance, and operational support to portfolio companies pursuing a double bottom-line of market-rate returns and measurable social impact. Targeted at founders and executive teams of growth-stage EdTech and workforce tech companies in North America.

Quantifiable outcome

• 47 investments made with $3.3B in enterprise value and 29 successful realizations
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• CMP Research / Customer Management PracticeminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 October 2024Pathstream partnered with CMP Research to enhance the CMP Certified exam-based program, combining professional certificate programs with CMP certification for customer contact teams.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Owl Ventures: Owl Ventures is a sector-focused EdTech venture capital firm investing across the education lifecycle. It is the most direct peer to New Markets in terms of vertical specialization, fund-stage focus, and double bottom-line orientation toward education outcomes.
• Learn Capital: Learn Capital is a leading EdTech-focused venture firm with a long track record of education technology investments. It is highly comparable in mandate and stage focus to New Markets' education and workforce thesis.
• Reach Capital: Reach Capital is an EdTech-focused venture fund investing in early- and growth-stage companies with mission alignment. It directly parallels New Markets in sector specialization, double bottom-line orientation, and target portfolio stage.
• Rethink Education: Rethink Education is an EdTech-focused venture capital firm investing in companies transforming K-12, postsecondary, and workforce learning. The fund shares New Markets' education-and-workforce specialization and impact-driven approach.
• ECMC Ventures: ECMC Ventures invests in companies that improve postsecondary education and workforce outcomes. It is a mission-aligned, sector-specialist peer with overlapping thesis on workforce and skills-based learning.

Emerging players

• Kapor Capital: Kapor Capital is an impact-focused venture firm that invests in EdTech and workforce startups closing opportunity gaps. It is comparable as a mission-driven EdTech investor, though its stage and check sizes may differ from New Markets' growth-stage focus.

Broad incumbents

• Emerson Collective: Emerson Collective invests across education, immigration, and other impact themes, including significant EdTech exposure. It overlaps with New Markets' mission orientation and education thesis but operates across a much broader investment mandate.
• Bessemer Venture Partners: Bessemer is a long-standing generalist venture firm with one of the largest dedicated EdTech investment portfolios. It competes for the same growth-stage EdTech deals as New Markets but with significantly larger fund size and broader sector mandate.

Others

• HolonIQ: HolonIQ is an education and workforce market intelligence platform that curates the North America EdTech 200 and other sector lists. It is comparable as an ecosystem participant supporting EdTech venture activity rather than a direct investor.
• Lumina Foundation: Lumina Foundation is one of New Markets' anchor LPs and a major funder of postsecondary education and workforce initiatives. It is comparable as a strategic ecosystem partner that shapes capital flows in the education and workforce sector.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/newmarketsvp
• Facebookfacebook.com/newmarkets
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/new-markets-venture-partners

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments58 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about New Markets Venture Partners