Desmos
Desmos is a private San Francisco-based edtech company that provides a free web-based graphing calculator for students, educators, and academic professionals, with its tool embedded in the College Board's digital SAT platform.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2011
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Desmos does
Desmos is a private San Francisco-based software company founded in 2011 that develops web-based mathematical graphing and visualization tools for the education market. Its core product is a free online graphing calculator that enables students, educators, and general users to plot functions, create tables, animate graphs, and perform mathematical calculations through a browser-based interface requiring no software installation. The company serves K-12 and college students, teachers, and academic professionals with a horizontal segmentation approach, targeting anyone needing interactive mathematical visualization. In March 2024, Desmos was integrated as the official on-screen graphing calculator within the College Board's digital SAT platform, providing distribution to millions of annual test-takers and establishing the tool as a standard in high-stakes academic assessment.
Desmos operates a freemium business model where the consumer-facing calculator is provided at no cost, and revenue is generated through institutional partnerships, platform licensing arrangements, and indirect monetization via educational platform integrations such as the College Board deal. The company's go-to-market combines product-led growth through free web access with OEM-style embedding into institutional platforms, reaching both individual self-serve users and enterprise customers. Early funding included a $800,000 round in August 2011 from Kindler Capital and Learn Capital, a $100,000 round in February 2012, and a later 2012 round backed by Elm Street Ventures, Google Ventures, Kapor Capital, Kindler Capital, and Learn Capital, establishing relationships with notable edtech-focused investors. The company operates with a lean team of 11-50 employees and is led by founder Eli Luberoff based on available references.
Desmos firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Desmos
- Legal name
- Desmos
- Website
- https://desmos.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2011
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Desmos is a private San Francisco-based edtech company that provides a free web-based graphing calculator for students, educators, and academic professionals, with its tool embedded in the College Board's digital SAT platform.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Desmos industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Educational Math Software
- NAICS
- Exam Preparation and Tutoring (611691)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Processing & Data Preparation (7374)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Core Digital Curriculum & Courseware (Full Programs & Units) (EDAFACAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Exam Prep & Standards-Aligned Review Courseware (Within Curriculum) (EDAFACAO), Higher Education Digital Courseware & Modules (EDAGAEAB), Online Exam Proctoring, Browser Lockdown & Secure Testing (EDAFALAC)
Keywords
Where Desmos is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Desmos business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Free Consumer Product: Desmos provides its graphing calculator tool free of charge to individual users, relying on institutional partnerships, licensing arrangements, and indirect monetization through educational platform integrations rather than direct consumer subscription fees.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Others | Free graphing calculator for all users |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels1 record
Desmos product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Desmos provides a free, web-based interactive graphing calculator that allows users to plot functions, create tables, animate graphs, and perform mathematical calculations. The same calculator is embedded as the official on-screen tool within the College Board's digital SAT testing platform, enabling standardized mathematical visualization for millions of test-takers.
Product overview
Desmos offers a single unified core product — a free online graphing calculator that enables users to plot functions, create tables, animate graphs, and perform mathematical calculations. The product is available directly through the Desmos website and has been integrated by the College Board as the official on-screen graphing tool for the digital SAT.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Desmos Graphing Calculator A free online graphing calculator that allows users to plot functions, create tables, animate graphs, and perform mathematical calculations. Targeted at students, educators, and general users needing interactive math visualization, and also embedded as the on-screen tool for the College Board's digital SAT.
Companies that use Desmos
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Desmos technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
Feature1 record
Desmos partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- College BoardcoreDesmos graphing calculator was integrated as the official on-screen calculator tool for the College Board's digital SAT, which launched in March 2024. This partnership provides Desmos with significant distribution to millions of annual SAT test-takers and positions the tool as a standard resource in high-stakes academic assessment.
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Desmos competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Photomath: Photomath provides free, app- and web-based math solving, graphing, and step-by-step explanations aimed at the same student and educator persona that Desmos serves.
- GeoGebra: GeoGebra offers a free, web-based interactive math suite covering graphing, geometry, algebra, and calculus — closely overlapping Desmos's core graphing calculator use case for students and educators.
- Wolfram Alpha: Wolfram Alpha provides computational and graphing capabilities via a freemium web platform used heavily by students and educators; direct substitute in math problem-solving and visualization workflows.
- Symbolab: Symbolab is a freemium math problem-solver and grapher targeting students and educators with step-by-step solutions and visualizations, overlapping Desmos's core audience and use cases.
- Mathway: Mathway offers a consumer-facing web/app math solver and graphing tool serving the same student and educator workflow as Desmos.
Broad incumbents
- Texas Instruments: TI dominates the graphing calculator market with hardware calculators (TI-84, TI-Nspire) and accompanying classroom software, and is a natural competitor or partner for any standardized-test calculator seat.
- Microsoft Math Solver: Microsoft's free Math Solver offers graphing and step-by-step math help inside a major consumer platform, competing for the same student persona with the backing of a hyperscaler.
Emerging players
- Maplesoft (Maple): Maplesoft provides advanced mathematical computation, graphing, and visualization software used in higher-ed and engineering education — adjacent to Desmos and a potential substitute for more technical users.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Desmos social profiles
Digital presenceDesmos financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Desmos leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Desmos funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors5 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Desmos M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Desmos
What does Desmos do?
Desmos provides a free, web-based interactive graphing calculator that allows users to plot functions, create tables, animate graphs, and perform mathematical calculations. The same calculator is embedded as the official on-screen tool within the College Board's digital SAT testing platform, enabling standardized mathematical visualization for millions of test-takers.
Is Desmos a public or private company?
Desmos is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Desmos founded?
Desmos was founded in 2011. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Desmos based?
Desmos is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Desmos make money?
One revenue line is on record: free Consumer Product.
Who are Desmos's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Photomath, GeoGebra, Wolfram Alpha, Symbolab and Mathway. Broad incumbents are Texas Instruments and Microsoft Math Solver. Maplesoft (Maple) is listed as an emerging player.
Does Desmos have an API?
No public API is recorded for Desmos.
What industry is Desmos in?
Desmos's product category is Educational Math Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAFACAA, Core Digital Curriculum & Courseware (Full Programs & Units), with a secondary code of EDAFACAO, Exam Prep & Standards-Aligned Review Courseware (Within Curriculum). Its NAICS code is 611691 and its SIC code is 7374.