Kami reaches $300 million valuation with new US investment

Kami, a prominent ed-tech platform originating from New Zealand, has received significant investment from the US private equity firm Boston Ventures Investment Partners (BV).

This investment has propelled Kami's valuation to over NZD $300 million and has resulted in a substantial return for early-stage investor New Zealand Growth Capital Partners (NZGCP).

Kami currently boasts over 40 million users, including teachers and students, across 180 countries. The latest financial injection will help realise Kami's global ambitions while the company continues to operate from Auckland, with all four founders remaining actively involved.

"We’ve always been ambitious at Kami, which is why we have over 40 million teachers and students signed up, and now is the time to own the global ed-tech space. BV is the right strategic partner to achieve our goals and continue our mission to scale to the next level," said Hengjie Wang, co-founder and CEO of Kami.

BV has a history of supporting ed-tech and founder-led enterprises, leveraging strategic expertise and industry knowledge to help businesses grow. The firm’s involvement is expected to accelerate Kami's impact and value proposition to its customers, aiming for Kami to become a category leader in the educational technology sector.

Wang further elaborated, "At its core, Kami is a founder-led business that has yielded growth by solving real problems faced by teachers and their students. While accelerating our growth with the support of BV, we remain committed to our core mission and values. Our global team, including the founders, our operations and day-to-day business functions will continue unchanged."

The partnership with BV provides Kami with a US-based global growth ally. With an already impressive market penetration of 90% in US K-12 schools, BV’s specialised expertise is expected to help Kami replicate its success in other international markets.

Zach Polich, Vice President of BV, commented on the investment, saying, "We pride ourselves on scaling businesses with strong potential, founders, and existing operations. Kami ticks all of our boxes and has proven itself as an indispensable platform for classrooms across the globe. Investing in Kami was a no-brainer for our team, and we’re excited to use our expertise to support their growth."

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kami provided essential support to millions of students and teachers worldwide by offering their platform for free. This initiative helped schools transition to online learning amidst global disruptions. Kami continues to offer its premium platform for free to all New Zealand schools as a form of community support.

James Pinner, Chief Investment Officer at NZGCP, highlighted the importance of their early investment: "Kami is a true success story and an example of how NZ tech can impact millions of lives across the globe and create hundreds of well-paid jobs in Aotearoa. We’ve been an early-stage investor in Kami since 2014 as we always believed in its mission and are thrilled for them on this next exciting chapter. This transaction allows us and other investors to recycle the proceeds into the next generation of exciting startups all aiming to be as impactful as Kami."

The investment deal was facilitated with the support of GrowthPoint Technology Partners, a San Francisco-based technology investment bank, acting as the exclusive financial advisor to Kami. With this significant boost, Kami aims to accelerate its mission of reaching every classroom in the world, continuing its operations from its home base in Auckland.