PAPER

What PAPER does

Paper is a Montreal-based EdTech company founded in 2014 (originally as GradeSlam and rebranded to Paper in 2021) that delivers an Educational Support System (ESS) to K-12 school districts across North America. The platform combines 24/7 on-demand live tutoring in 200+ subjects with multilingual support in English, Spanish, French, and Mandarin; asynchronous essay review with 24-hour annotated feedback; AI-based reading fluency practice (Paper Reading, acquired from Readlee); gamified math practice (Paper Missions); and career and college readiness tools (MajorClarity, acquired in 2023). Core product lines include GROW High-Impact Tutoring — an NSSA-certified, ESSA Level III-validated program featuring consistent tutors, small cohorts (1:1-3:1), and 30-minute sessions aligned to classroom standards — and Live Help, the on-demand tutoring layer. The platform is delivered through a dedicated W-2 tutor workforce, not independent contractors, and is integrated into teacher workflows via dashboards and instructional alignment tools.

Paper operates a B2B sales-led model, selling fixed-cost annual district-wide site licenses that provide unlimited access to all students within a district regardless of usage levels. Pricing is not publicly disclosed but is structured as subscription recurring revenue aligned to ESSER and district budget cycles. The company has raised approximately $387M across disclosed funding rounds, including a $270M Series D in February 2022 led by Sapphire Ventures and SoftBank Vision Fund 2. Named customers include large urban districts such as Los Angeles Unified, Clark County, Denver Public Schools, Jefferson County Public Schools, Atlanta Public Schools, plus a statewide partnership in Mississippi. The company has expanded from serving nearly 2 million students across ~30 states (early 2022) to nearly 3 million students across 41 states, with headcount growing by over 300% to support operations.

Distribution is exclusively through direct enterprise sales to district superintendents, school boards, and administrators, supplemented by library system partnerships (e.g., Fulton County). Paper holds NSSA Tutoring Program Design Badge, ESSA Level III: Promising Evidence certification, and SOC 2 Type II compliance, providing procurement-aligned credibility. The company's two 2023 acquisitions — Readlee (literacy) and MajorClarity (career readiness) — represent a deliberate platform expansion beyond pure tutoring into adjacent K-12 product categories, with Series D use of funds explicitly targeting early childhood education and after-school enrichment expansion.

Name

PAPER

Legal name

Paper

Website

https://paper.co

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Paper is a Montreal-based EdTech company providing K-12 school districts with an Educational Support System combining 24/7 live tutoring, essay review, AI reading practice, and career readiness. It serves nearly 3 million students across 41 states via fixed-cost district-wide licenses.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

EdTech / K-12 Educational Support Software

NAICS

Exam Preparation and Tutoring (611691), Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Services (61)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Literacy & ELA Instruction (School-Delivered) (EDAJAFAF)

Keywords

• K-12 tutoring services
• High-impact tutoring
• Educational support system
• Online learning platform
• Literacy and reading tools

Headquarters

HQ city

Montréal

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. B2B School District Contracts: Paper provides its Educational Support System to school districts at a fixed annual cost. Districts pay a subscription fee that provides unlimited access to all students in the district, regardless of usage levels. This fixed-cost model allows districts to maximize usage without financial risk and aligns with federal relief funding (ESSER grants) eligible expenditures.
2. District-Level Site Licenses: Paper offers unlimited, site-based, fixed price licensing to districts, enabling all students and teachers within the district to access the platform. Pricing scales based on district size and scope of implementation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Paper operates an Educational Support System (ESS) for K-12 students sold to school districts as a site-wide subscription. The platform delivers 24/7 live tutoring in 200+ subjects, asynchronous essay review, AI-driven reading fluency practice, gamified math practice, and career/college readiness tools. The flagship structured offering, GROW High-Impact Tutoring, provides small-cohort, consistent-tutor, classroom-aligned instruction certified under ESSA Level III evidence and NSSA Tutoring Program Design standards.

Product overview

Paper's Educational Support System (ESS) is a unified platform combining live tutoring, asynchronous writing feedback, gamified practice tools, and career/college readiness into a single integrated system. The core offering includes GROW High-Impact Tutoring (small-group, consistent-tutor instruction aligned to classroom standards), Live Help (24/7 on-demand tutoring in 200+ subjects), Review Center (essay feedback with annotated annotations), Paper Reading (AI-driven reading fluency practice acquired from Readlee), and Paper Missions (gamified math practice). The MajorClarity acquisition added career and college readiness tools including academic advising, customized pathways, college application management, and workforce micro-credentialing. The platform serves students across K-12 with multilingual support (English, Spanish, French, Mandarin) and provides teacher tools for progress monitoring and instructional alignment.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• GROW High-Impact Tutoring Instruction-first, classroom-aligned high-impact tutoring delivered to K-12 students in small cohorts (1:1 to 3:1) with the same tutor each session, typically three 30-minute sessions per week. Curriculum is custom-built to reinforce what students are learning in class and includes session-level learning checks, ongoing progress monitoring, and a custom end-of-program review. ESSA Level III evidence and NSSA Tutoring Program Design Badge certified.
• Live Help (Live Tutoring) 24/7 on-demand, chat-based tutoring in over 200 K-12 subjects, available in English, Spanish, French, and Mandarin. Tutors use Socratic instruction methods to guide students to answers and build confidence.
• Review Center Essay and writing feedback service where students submit any written work and receive annotated feedback from expert tutors on grammar, structure, and content within 24 hours.
• Paper Reading (formerly Readlee) AI-based reading fluency practice tool featuring model reading, vocabulary preview, repeated readings, and automated running records. Developed by teachers and Harvard researchers.
• MajorClarity Career and college readiness (CCR) platform providing academic advising, customized academic pathways, college application management, and workforce micro-credentialing for students pursuing various post-high school paths.
• Paper Missions Gamified, self-paced math practice tool allowing K-12 students to practice daily math skills in a fun, low-pressure environment. Informs learner profiles and helps identify student strengths and weaknesses.

Quantifiable outcome

• 201% increase in grade-level proficiency after 12 weeks of GROW High-Impact Tutoring
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability6 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• ReadleecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 March 2023Paper acquired Readlee, an AI-based learning tool focused on reading fluency. The acquisition aims to advance literacy solutions for over 3 million students nationwide. Readlee was developed by teachers and Harvard researchers and includes AI-driven reading practice, model reading, and vocabulary preview features.
• MajorClaritycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 February 2023Paper acquired MajorClarity, a Virginia-based career and college readiness platform. The acquisition enhances Paper's offerings with a comprehensive CCR platform supporting students' various post-high school paths including college degrees, technical certifications, internships, military, and workforce entry.
• National Student Support Accelerator (NSSA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNSSA evaluated Paper's GROW program against rigorous research-based design standards and awarded the Tutoring Program Design Badge, validating that Paper meets core elements of high-impact tutoring including dosage, consistency, instructional alignment, and quality oversight.
• Stanford UniversitysupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerStanford University's NSSA program recognized Paper's tutoring program design excellence, providing independent validation of Paper's research-based approach.
• National Cybersecurity AlliancesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPaper's CEO Philip Cutler joined NCA's anti-cyberbullying campaign. Paper is launching a website with NCA resources about cybersecurity, online safety, and cyberbullying prevention for students, teachers, and families.
• Instructure Research TeamsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerInstructure Research Team validated Paper's GROW and live tutoring solutions under ESSA Level III evidence standards, providing independent academic research validation.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/paperlearning
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/PAPERLearning
• Facebookfacebook.com/paperlearning
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/paperlearning
• Instagraminstagram.com/paperlearning

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds8 records

Investors21 records

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

M&A2 records

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about PAPER