Cintana Education

What Cintana Education does

Cintana Education is a Tempe, Arizona-based Public Benefit LLC founded in 2019 that operates the ASU-Cintana Alliance, a global network of 30+ partner universities across 28 countries serving more than 330,000 students. The company was founded by Douglas L. Becker, the former chairman and CEO of Laureate Education, and most of its senior leadership is drawn from Laureate's executive bench, bringing deep operating experience in international higher education, including prior management of 1M+ students across 200+ campuses.

Cintana's core product is the ASU partnership itself: it licenses Arizona State University's catalog of 200+ online degree programs, dual-degree pathways, faculty expertise, and global brand to partner universities, and complements that with the CinLearn cross-border online education platform (launched 2020 in Shanghai) and an AI-powered sandbox environment co-developed with AWS and ASU. The company also designs, launches, and operates greenfield universities (American University Kyiv in 2021, American University of Technology Tashkent in 2024, National Institute of Technology Pakistan in 2025) and builds specialty infrastructure such as the Immersive Center for Education in Health at Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara.

Commercially, Cintana runs a B2B enterprise sales motion targeting university presidents and provosts, with multi-year partnership agreements, undisclosed quote-based pricing, and professional services for university transformation. Distribution is layered: direct field sales, an affiliate channel via existing alliance members who serve as regional exclusives, and platform-based delivery through CinLearn. The stated strategic goal is to grow the alliance to 65 institutions and 500,000+ students by 2030.

Name

Cintana Education

Legal name

Cintana Education, LLC

Website

https://cintana.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cintana Education operates the ASU-Cintana Alliance, a global network of 30+ partner universities across 28 countries serving 330,000+ students. The company licenses Arizona State University's content, dual-degree programs, and cross-border online education technology to universities and operates select greenfield institutions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education Partnership Services

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Educational Services (611), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Online International & Cross-Border Universities (Global/Transnational Providers) (EDAHALAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

International Branch Campus & Offshore Program Partnerships (EDAIABAI), Direct Enrollment & Third-Party University Study Abroad Programs (EDAIAAAB)

Keywords

• Higher education partnerships
• University transformation services
• Cross-border online education
• Dual degree programs
• Greenfield university development

Headquarters

HQ city

Tempe

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, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. University Partnership Services: Cintana generates revenue through partnership agreements with universities, providing access to ASU content repository (200+ online degree programs), dual degree pathways, global learning opportunities, and online enablement services.
2. Professional Services: Consulting and advisory services for university transformation, including strategic planning, academic curriculum development, faculty training, and technology integration.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Cintana Education partners with universities globally through the Cintana Alliance, providing access to Arizona State University's content repository of 200+ online degree programs, dual degree pathways, cross-border online education via the CinLearn platform, and consulting services for university transformation. The company also establishes and operates greenfield universities in emerging markets, offering end-to-end support from strategic planning to academic curriculum development and faculty training.

Product overview

Cintana Education operates a platform-plus-partner network model, centered on the Cintana Alliance connecting 30+ universities across 30 countries serving 330,000+ students. The core offering includes Powered by ASU partnerships providing access to ASU's 200+ online degree programs, dual degree pathways, and global learning opportunities. Key products include CinLearn for cross-border online education, ASU London for UK-US pathway programs, and the Immersive Center for Education in Health (CIES) for health sciences education. Additional offerings encompass student exchange programs, certificate pathways, summer experiences, annual conferences (ACE), and global competitions focused on Sustainable Development Goals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cintana Alliance A global network of 30+ university partners across 28 countries serving 330,000+ students, enabling universities to enhance academic quality and expand reach through partnerships, resources, and collaborative programs.
• CinLearn Platform enabling cross-border online education, helping globally ranked universities offer online programs in native languages.
• Powered by ASU Partnership program providing partner universities access to ASU content repository (200+ online degree programs), dual degrees, global learning opportunities, online enablement, and faculty collaborations.
• Immersive Center for Education in Health (CIES) State-of-the-art immersive learning space at Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara featuring advanced labs, digital life lab, VR technology, virtual patients, and neuroarchitecture-designed environments for health sciences education.
• ASU-Cintana Experience (ACE) Conference Annual conference held in October at ASU campus in Tempe, AZ, bringing together leaders, educators and innovators from Cintana's global partner universities and ASU to explore the future of higher education.

Quantifiable outcome

• 330,000+ students enrolled at ASU-Cintana Alliance partner universities
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Amazon Web Services (AWS)coreTechnology or Integration · 30 October 2025Global collaboration to develop open-source agentic AI tools for higher education. AWS provides cloud technologies and expertise while Cintana and ASU contribute academic expertise and a global university network. The initiative focuses on improving student recruitment support and personalized tutoring, piloting across partner universities in 28 countries.
• Arizona State University (ASU)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Founding strategic partnership established in 2019 to form the ASU-Cintana Alliance. ASU provides exclusive access to its content repository (200+ online degree programs), faculty expertise, research collaborations, and global reputation. Cintana leverages these resources to help universities worldwide enhance quality and scale. The partnership aims to extend the network to 65 global institutions by 2030.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Laureate Education: Largest operator of international universities historically and the company where nearly all Cintana senior leadership previously worked. Both operate cross-border higher education partnership networks; Cintana is effectively a more focused, ASU-anchored successor model to parts of Laureate's international portfolio.
• INTO University Partnerships: Operates pathway programs and partnerships with top U.S. and U.K. universities to recruit and prepare international students. Directly comparable to Cintana's dual-degree and pathway offerings, and one of Cintana's regional CEOs previously led INTO's North American centers.
• Navitas: Global education provider offering university pathway programs, professional education, and English language training through partnerships with universities worldwide. Closely comparable business model and international footprint to Cintana.
• Study Group: Provides international student recruitment, pathway programs, and university partnerships across multiple geographies. Directly comparable to Cintana's cross-border partnership and dual-degree model.
• Shorelight Education: Partners with top U.S. universities to create international student pathways and program offerings. Operates a similar university-anchored cross-border education model to Cintana, focused on U.S. brand delivery.
• Global University Systems (GUS): Operates a network of higher education institutions across multiple countries with pathway and partnership programs. Closely comparable to Cintana's international alliance structure.

Broad incumbents

• GEMS Education: Large global K-12 and higher education operator with international footprint. While more K-12 focused, GEMS is a comparable global education operator with university-adjacent partnerships.
• Kaplan International: Operates English language training, pathway programs, and university partnerships globally as part of Kaplan, Inc. Comparable international education services with established university partnerships.

Emerging players

• InStride: Workforce-focused online education partnership company where Cintana founder Douglas Becker serves as non-executive Chairman. Operates a similar B2B university partnership model focused on employer-sponsored degrees.
• OpenClassrooms: Online education provider where Cintana founder Douglas Becker serves on the board. Operates in adjacent higher-ed/digital skills space with employer partnerships, somewhat comparable to Cintana's content licensing approach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cintanaeducation
• Instagraminstagram.com/poweredbyasu

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Cintana Education