What Arco Educacao does

Arco Educação is a Brazilian educational solutions group publicly listed on NASDAQ under ticker ARCE and headquartered in São Paulo. The company provides an integrated portfolio of K-12 educational solutions to private schools across Brazil, organized across six segments: Core teaching systems (SAS Educação, COC, Geekie, Sistema Positivo de Ensino, SAE Digital, Conquista), Plus supplementary programs (Pleno, Escola da Inteligência, International School, Nave à Vela, PES English, Gênio das Finanças, Mestre dos Mestres), publishing (Editora Maralto), Financial & Management solutions (Isaac for revenue guarantee and payments, Activesoft ERP, ClassApp communication), a franchise channel (Ways Bilingual School), and a social arm (Arco Instituto). The group serves more than 12,000 schools and approximately 4 million students — roughly one in three private school students in Brazil — with an average NPS above 80 and academic outcomes anchored by 37 of Brazil's top 100 ENEM-performing schools using Arco solutions.

The underlying technology stack combines pedagogical content (didactic materials, teacher training, assessment tools), digital learning platforms (Geekie, SAE Digital, portals per brand), and operational software (Activesoft for academic, administrative, and financial integration; ClassApp for school-family communication; Isaac for receivables management and working capital). Revenue is generated primarily through annual subscriptions paid by schools for teaching systems, supplemented by franchise fees from Ways Bilingual School, and financial services revenue from Isaac. The go-to-market is sales-led, with direct sales teams targeting private school administrators across Brazil, supported by brand-level websites and education industry events.

The company has scaled aggressively through M&A, executing five acquisitions between 2019 and 2022 (Escola em Movimento, Me Salva!, QMagico, Eduqo, Edupass, and isaac), and was backed by a R$825 million private equity investment from Dragoneer Investment Group and General Atlantic Partners in November 2021 ahead of its public listing. The group employs 4,000+ collaborators across its portfolio of brands and remains operationally active as of the most recent available data.

Name

Arco Educacao

Legal name

Grupo Arco Educação

Website

https://arcoeducacao.com.br

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Arco Educação is a Brazilian K-12 education group providing integrated teaching systems, digital learning platforms, school management software, and financial services to 12,000+ private schools and 4+ million students across Brazil via a multi-brand portfolio including SAS, COC, Geekie, and Sistema Positivo.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

K-12 Educational Technology and School Management Solutions

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Services (611)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Adaptive Learning & Personalized Instruction Software (EDAJAMAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

K–12 SIS & District Administration Platforms (EDAFAEAA), Revenue Cycle & Tuition Billing/Collections Support (Student Accounts BPO) (EDAEALAN)

Keywords

• K-12 teaching systems
• School management software
• Educational technology platforms
• School financial services
• Supplementary education programs

Headquarters

HQ city

São Paulo

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin 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. Teaching System Subscriptions: Schools pay subscription fees for access to teaching systems, educational materials, and digital platforms under brands like SAS, COC, Geekie, Sistema Positivo, SAE Digital, and Conquista
2. School Management Solutions: Revenue from Activesoft ERP system for school administration and ClassApp communication platform
3. Financial Services: Isaac provides revenue guarantee and payment processing services for schools
4. Franchise Revenue: Ways Bilingual School operates as a franchise model generating franchise and ongoing fees

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Arco Educacao sells integrated educational solutions to private K-12 schools in Brazil, including complete teaching systems with pedagogical content and digital platforms (SAS, COC, Geekie, Sistema Positivo, SAE Digital, Conquista), supplementary learning programs, school ERP and management software (Activesoft), communication tools (ClassApp), and financial services (Isaac), supplemented by a bilingual school franchise (Ways), a publishing brand (Editora Maralto), and a non-profit social arm (Arco Instituto).

Product overview

Arco Educação is a Brazilian educational group offering a comprehensive and structured portfolio of solutions - from pedagogical to school management. The portfolio is organized into six segments: Core (SAS Educação, Geekie, COC, Sistema Positivo de Ensino, SAE Digital, Conquista Solução Educacional) providing complete teaching systems; Plus (Pleno, Escola da Inteligência, International School, Nave à Vela, PES, Gênio das Finanças, Mestre dos Mestres) offering supplementary learning solutions; Editora (Editora Maralto) for reader formation; Financeiro & Gestão (Isaac, ClassApp, Activesoft) for financial and administrative school solutions; Social (Arco Instituto) for public education impact; and Ways (Ways Bilingual School) as a franchise model. The group supports schools, teachers, students, and families across more than 12,000 schools in Brazil.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SAS Educação: Teaching system brand part of the Core segment.
• Geekie
• COC
• Sistema Positivo de Ensino
• SAE Digital
• Conquista Solução Educacional
• Ways Bilingual School
• International School
• Escola da Inteligência
• Pleno
• PES English
• Nave à Vela
• Isaac
• ClassApp
• Activesoft
• Editora Maralto
• Arco Instituto

Products and services

• SAS Educação Complete and integrated teaching and learning solutions through didactic materials and portal access that complement the student's learning process; serves private K-12 schools in Brazil.
• Geekie Teaching systems providing educational technology platforms for student learning assessment and acompanhamento; serves private K-12 schools.
• COC Established teaching system brand providing didactic materials and educational content for K-12 education.
• Sistema Positivo de Ensino Complete teaching system with didactic materials and digital platforms for comprehensive student learning in K-12 education.
• SAE Digital Digital teaching system providing online educational content and assessment tools for K-12 schools.
• Conquista Solução Educacional Educational solution providing teaching systems and pedagogical support for K-12 schools.
• Pleno Supplementary learning solution focused on socio-emotional development and integral formation.
• Escola da Inteligência Supplementary solution focused on socio-emotional education and development of emotional competencies.
• International School Bilingual education solution preparing students for global challenges with international curriculum.
• Nave à Vela Supplementary solution focused on creativity (maker), collaboration, and critical thinking development.
• PES English Bilingual education program integrated into the school curriculum.
• Gênio das Finanças Financial education solution teaching students about personal finance and money management.
• Editora Maralto Publishing solution dedicated to promoting and fostering reader formation in Brazil, offering a Reading Formation Program from Early Childhood Education to High School.
• Isaac Financial solutions for schools, guaranteeing financial security by assuming collection of monthly fees and enabling control of financial management including receivables and collections.
• ClassApp School communication platform offering personalized online agenda combining the practicality of a physical agenda with the agility of online communication between schools and families.
• Activesoft Online school management system integrating academic, administrative, and financial sectors of private schools.
• Ways Bilingual School Bilingual full formation solution consisting of a traditional franchise model offering complete pedagogical and management systems integrated with other Grupo Arco companies.
• Arco Instituto Non-profit association supporting resolution of Brazilian public education challenges, focused on learning, opportunities, and socio-emotional skill development for youth in public schools.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1 in 3 private school students in Brazil use Arco solutions
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Vasta Platform: Vasta Platform is a NASDAQ-listed Brazilian K-12 educational solutions provider offering teaching systems, SIS, and content to private schools through brands such as Somos and Pitágoras. It is the closest direct competitor to Arco Educação in the Brazilian private K-12 market with overlapping products, similar customer base, and a public-company capital structure.
• Eleva Educação: Eleva Educação is a Brazilian private K-12 group operating brands such as Bandeirantes, Singularidades, and Pueri Domus, and is backed by Bain Capital. It mirrors Arco's multi-brand, vertically integrated K-12 model in the same country and target segment, competing head-to-head for private-school partnerships.
• Cognita: Cognita is a global K-12 schools group operating premium and bilingual schools across Europe, Latin America, and Asia, with a franchise-like operating model. Comparable to Arco's Ways Bilingual School franchise and International School brand, particularly for cross-border bilingual K-12 expansion strategy.

Broad incumbents

• Pearson: Pearson is a global education company providing K-12 and higher-education content, assessment, and digital platforms. Comparable to Arco as a broad incumbent in educational content and adaptive learning, though Arco is much more concentrated in Brazilian K-12 delivery rather than global publishing.
• McGraw Hill: McGraw Hill is a global K-12 and higher-education publisher with adaptive learning platforms such as ALEKS. Comparable to Arco's content and adaptive-learning brands (Geekie, SAE Digital) but with much broader geographic reach and curriculum coverage.
• PowerSchool: PowerSchool is a leading North American K-12 student information system and unified classroom SaaS provider. Comparable to Arco's Activesoft ERP and ClassApp communication products at the SIS/operations layer, though Arco's reach is concentrated in Brazilian private schools rather than US K-12 districts.
• Anthology: Anthology (formerly Blackboard) is a global education management software provider offering SIS, ERP, and student-success platforms across K-12 and higher education. Comparable to Arco's Activesoft ERP offering but at a broader, higher-education-heavy global scale.
• BYJU'S: BYJU'S is a large global edtech company providing K-12 and test-prep digital learning content across multiple emerging markets. Comparable to Arco as a K-12 edtech platform operator, though BYJU'S direct product overlap with Arco's Brazilian teaching-system content is limited.

Emerging players

• Knewton: Knewton (now part of Wiley) provides adaptive-learning infrastructure and content efficacy analytics to education publishers. Comparable to Arco's Geekie/SAE Digital adaptive learning and assessment capabilities, particularly in the analytics and content-efficacy layer that Arco positions as a differentiator.
• DreamBox Learning: DreamBox Learning is an adaptive K-8 math platform serving schools in North America and select international markets. Comparable to Arco's Geekie and SAE Digital brands at the adaptive-instruction layer, focused on a narrower math/STEM curriculum niche.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/arcoeducacao
• Facebookfacebook.com/arcoeducacao
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/arcoeducacao

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries18 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

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

M&A8 records

Investments1 record

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

Frequently asked questions about Arco Educacao