California Education Learning Lab

Name

California Education Learning Lab

Legal name

California Education Learning Lab

Website

https://calearninglab.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education Grantmaking

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI), Grantmaking Agencies & Education Program Grants Administration (EDADAHAD)

Keywords

• Higher education grants
• STEM teaching innovation
• Open educational resources
• Faculty development programs
• Adaptive learning technology

Headquarters

HQ city

Sacramento

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. State General Fund Appropriation: Learning Lab receives an annual budget of $8 million from State general funds, distributed entirely through competitive grants to support activities that enhance teaching and learning in California public higher education.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

California Education Learning Lab is a state-funded grantmaking organization that awards competitive grants to faculty-led projects across California's public higher education segments (California Community Colleges, California State University, and University of California). Funded projects focus on STEM disciplines and leverage the science of human learning, adaptive technology, and open educational resources to improve teaching, close equity gaps, and foster student success.

Product overview

The California Education Learning Lab is a state-funded grantmaking organization that supports faculty-led innovation in higher education across California's public university systems (CCC, CSU, UC). Rather than a single unified product, Learning Lab operates a portfolio of interconnected programs and platforms: CARLE serves as the central OER repository for hosting and sharing educational resources generated by funded projects; the AI Initiative coordinates AI-integrated teaching innovation through Challenge Grants and publishes AI Briefs synthesizing faculty insights; the Resilient Workforce Initiative supports workforce development projects; and INSPIRE serves as the annual convening for the learning community. Supporting tools include the Grantee Portal, OER Blackboard, Substack publication, and My Robot Teacher Podcast. Learning Lab connects faculty across California's higher education segments through grants, resources, and collaborative gatherings to advance equity in STEM education.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CARLE (Curated Asset Repository for Learning Excellence) An open educational resource repository that curates and hosts learning materials, tools, and resources generated by Learning Lab-funded projects, available for use by California faculty and beyond.
• AI Initiative A multi-faceted collaborative program aimed at spurring transformative change in AI-integrated teaching and learning across California's three public higher education systems, including AI Challenge Grants and AI Briefs synthesizing faculty insights on AI Literacy, Ethics, and Workforce Preparation.
• Quantum FAST Challenge A quantum workforce development grant challenge co-led with the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz), providing funding to projects that build the quantum talent pipeline in California.
• Resilient Workforce Initiative A grantmaking initiative supporting faculty-led projects focused on workforce development and resilience across California's public higher education segments.
• INSPIRE Convening An annual in-person and virtual gathering bringing together faculty, policymakers, and administrators from California's public higher education systems to explore innovative approaches to teaching and learning.
• OER Blackboard An open educational resource discovery and access tool providing searchable access to OER materials for California faculty.

Quantifiable outcome

• 33 faculty-led AI Challenge grants funded across California public higher education
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and major.

• Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 July 2026Joint partnership for the Quantum FAST Challenge providing up to $2.7 million in quantum workforce development funding. GO-Biz and Learning Lab jointly lead the program.
• Foundation for California Community CollegescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLearning Lab is housed at the Foundation for California Community Colleges through a three-year partnership with the Governor's Office of Planning and Research. The Foundation serves as grants manager for Learning Lab programs.
• Governor's Office of Planning and ResearchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThree-year partnership agreement establishing Learning Lab as a state-funded grantmaking organization supporting STEM innovation in California higher education.
• Teagle FoundationflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Cornerstone grants supporting humanities-centered general education innovations at Sonoma State and Cal Maritime.
• College Futures FoundationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner supporting equity-focused initiatives and student success programs across California higher education.
• James Irvine FoundationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner supporting workforce development and educational access initiatives.
• UC Berkeley Data Science Modules TeammajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with UC Berkeley's data science modules team for the Enhancing Data Science Teaching Capacity project at El Camino College.
• Open Learning Initiative (OLI)majorTechnology or IntegrationPartnership with OLI (Carnegie Mellon/Stanford) for adaptive hybrid course development in chemistry education.
• LibreTexts PlatformmajorTechnology or IntegrationChemistry OER adaptive learning platform integrated with Learning Lab chemistry education projects.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• College Futures Foundation: California-focused philanthropic foundation supporting equity and student success across the state's higher education segments; closely mirrors Learning Lab's California public-higher-ed mission and is already a listed partner.
• Lumina Foundation: Major U.S. education grantmaking foundation focused on postsecondary access and success; comparable to Learning Lab as a private grantmaking entity funding higher education innovation, though operating at national scale rather than state-confined.
• James Irvine Foundation: California-focused foundation supporting workforce development and educational access; comparable grantmaking model and geographic focus, and currently a documented Learning Lab partner.
• ECMC Foundation: National education-focused grantmaking foundation with significant postsecondary and workforce investment; structurally similar private grantmaking model targeting higher education outcomes and equity.
• Teagle Foundation: Philanthropic grantmaker supporting higher education innovation, including Cornerstone grants on general education reform; already an active collaborator of Learning Lab on humanities-centered general education projects at Sonoma State and Cal Maritime.

Broad incumbents

• Strada Education Foundation: Large national philanthropy focused on education-to-employment pathways and postsecondary completion; comparable in mission to bridge higher education and workforce outcomes but with broader scope and national reach.
• Carnegie Corporation of New York: Major national foundation with deep higher education grantmaking programs; significantly larger scale and broader portfolio than Learning Lab but operates on a comparable grant-distribution model targeting higher education improvement.
• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: Largest U.S. education philanthropy with extensive postsecondary grantmaking including completion, equity, and adaptive learning; overlaps with Learning Lab's STEM-equity focus but operates as a global incumbent with vastly larger capital deployment.
• Kresge Foundation: National foundation with significant higher education programming targeting postsecondary access and success for low-income learners; comparable equity-focused mission to Learning Lab, but with broader geographic mandate and larger asset base.

Others

• OpenStax: Rice University-affiliated OER publisher producing free textbooks widely adopted in higher education; thematically adjacent as an open-content infrastructure provider whose work Learning Lab's CARLE repository complements and curates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@californiaeducationlearnin6758
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/california-education-learning-lab
• Xx.com/ca_learninglab

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 California Education Learning Lab