Globalscholar.com

About Globalscholar.com

Globalscholar.com, initially founded as InfiLearn in December 2006 by former Amazon executive Kal Raman, was a multifaceted educational software company headquartered in Bellevue, Washington. Raman's extensive background in high-level positions at major tech and retail companies like Amazon and drugstore.com shaped the firm's ambitious strategy to integrate technology into the K-12 education sector.

The company's operations were twofold. For the institutional market, it offered the Pinnacle Suite, an enterprise resource planning (ERP) software designed to manage various aspects of K-12 school administration. This suite included a gradebook, a learning management system (LMS), teacher development tools, and analytics. For consumers, the firm operated the Globalscholar.com website, an on-demand platform connecting students, parents, and pre-screened tutors. This service facilitated one-on-one tutoring and homework help through a proprietary interface featuring an online whiteboard, audio/video capabilities, and an integrated billing system. The business model derived revenue from both enterprise software licensing to schools and fees from the online tutoring marketplace. The company also launched companion sites, SchoolFinder and CollegeFinder, to help parents and students compare educational institutions.

Demonstrating significant investor confidence, the company secured a $15.5 million Series A funding round in early 2007, followed by a $27 million Series B round in January 2008, with investors including Ignition Partners and Knowledge Universe Education. These funds supported strategic moves, such as the 2008 acquisition of Excelsior Software. GlobalScholar was later acquired by Scantron, and in October 2013, Scantron formally retired the GlobalScholar brand, ceasing development and support for its products.