MassiveU, a Naples EdTech startup, has raised a $700K seed round led by Tamiami Angel Fund II (T2) ($330K) with participation from a complementary group of investors with an interest in education technology ($370K). With initial funding from Tamiami Angel Fund I, T2, as lead investor, has raised more than $1.08M for MassiveU. Massive U intends to use the funding to create a full-time management team and to further build out its technical platform to execute large opportunities with publishers and content providers in Latin America and other countries. In conjunction with the funding, John Gamba, a T2 member, will become a director at MassiveU. Gamba founded PACE (Partnership for Academic and Community Excellence), a school-to-home telecommunications network, which was sold to Blackboard Inc. for $182M. Massive U, which started as the world’s first mobile MOOC (Massive Open Online Course), is accelerating its growth as a project-based, social learning Platform-As-A-Service (PLAAS) company. MassiveU was founded in 2012 by Angelo Biasi, a former New York University educator, and started generating revenue in April 2013. “Not only does the Tamiami Angel Fund’s investment support local entrepreneurs and job growth, it also supports the education of students in Southwest Florida and beyond,” said Biasi. “With the investment, the resources and the mentorship from T2 into MassiveU, we’re experiencing how early-stage investing can transform our Southwest Florida communities.” “T2 sees MassiveU as a strong business entity that can make a real difference in terms of 21st century skills development for students,” said Don Kiernan, a T2 member and MassiveU board member. “MassiveU is going to enhance the learning process in the country and worldwide.” Timothy Cartwright, chairman of T2, said, “MassiveU is the perfect combination of a passionate founder with a technology-enabled idea, an experienced management team with a previous exit, and a solution to a real problem inside a large marketplace.” Read more here.
