When was Formative founded?

Formative was founded in 2013 and raised its 1st funding round within a year of its incorporation.

Where is Formative located?

Formative is headquartered in Santa Monica, United States.

Who is the current CEO of Formative?

Craig Jones of Formative. They have also founded 1 company.

How many employees does Formative have?

As of Sep 30, 2026, the latest employee count at Formative is 25.

Is Formative a funded company?

Formative is a funded company, having raised a total of $70M across 3 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a $***** Seed round, raised on Nov 20, 2013.

When was the latest funding round of Formative?

Formative's latest funding was a $***** Series A round on Jun 15, 2021, with participation from 5 investors. Its primary sector is K-12 EdTech. In United States, the K-12 EdTech sector has seen $245M in funding in 2026 to date.

Where does Formative rank among its competitors?

Formative ranks 4th amongst 1196 active competitors, of which 90 are funded. It stands 1st in terms of total funding among its competitors. The most recent competitor to raise funding was Mindprint Learning, which secured $1.66M in Jun, 2025.

Who are the top competitors of Formative?

Formative's top competitors include Renaissance, Languify and Smartail. Among them, Mindprint Learning secured the most recent funding round in June, 2025.

Formative - 2026 Company Profile, Team, Funding & Competitors

Formative is an acquired company based in Santa Monica (United States), founded in 2013 by Daniel Cornell, Emma Forster, Craig Jones and Kevin McFarland. It operates as an Online platform offering real-time instruction tools for educators. Formative has raised $70M in funding from Summit Partners. The company has 1196 active competitors, including 90 funded and 45 that have exited. Its top competitors include companies like Renaissance, Languify and Smartail.

Company Details

Online platform offering real-time instruction tools for educators. It allows teachers to create, edit, preview, and assign assessments, providing actionable data to enhance teaching and learning. It supports collaboration among educators, allowing them to share assessments, make real-time edits, and sync rosters.

Website: www.formative.com/
Social
Email ID: *****@formative.com
Phone Number: +1 **********

Key Metrics

Founded Year

2013

Location

Santa Monica, United States

Stage

Acquired

Total Funding

$70M in 3 rounds

Latest Funding Round

Series A, Jun 15, 2021, $*****

Investors

Summit Partners & 6 more

Ranked

4^th among 1196 active competitors

Employee Count

25 as on Sep 30, 2026

Similar Companies

Renaissance & 999 more

Exit Details

Acquired by Newsela (Jun 28, 2023)

View Formative's full profile

Formative got acquired by Newsela on Jun 28, 2023.

Click here to take a look at Formative's acquisition in detail

Formative has raised a total funding of $70M over 3 rounds. Its first funding round was on Nov 20, 2013. Its latest funding round was a Series A round on Jun 15, 2021 for $*****. 5 investors participated in its latest round. Formative has 7 institutional investors.

Here is the list of recent funding rounds of Formative:

Date of Funding	Funding Amount	Round Name	Post-Money Valuation	Revenue Multiple	Lead Investors	Other Investors
Jun 15, 2021	4513075	Series A	5962531	5914430	1405155	2693848
Nov 08, 2016	2494069	Seed	3544823	5642599	7864791	Jefferson Education Accelerator
Nov 20, 2013	2721937	Seed	9894477	1335096	3481068	UCLA Ventures

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View details of Formative's funding rounds and investors

The founders of Formative are Daniel Cornell, Emma Forster, Craig Jones and Kevin McFarland. Craig Jones is the CEO of Formative.

Here are the details of Formative's key team members:

Daniel Cornell: Co-Founder of Formative and founder of 1 other company.
Contact Info: 1 email address
Emma Forster: Founder of Formative.
Craig Jones: Co-Founder & CEO of Formative.
Contact Info: 1 email address
Kevin McFarland: Co-Founder of Formative and founder of 1 other company.

View details of Formative's Founder profiles and Board Members

Formative's employee count trend

Formative has 25 employees as of Sep 26. Here is Formative's employee count trend over the years:

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Top competitors of Formative include Renaissance, Languify and Smartail. Here is the list of Top 10 competitors of Formative, ranked by Tracxn score:

Rank	Company Details	Short Description	Total Funding	Investors	Tracxn Score
1st	Renaissance 1986, Wisconsin Rapids (United States), Acquired	K-12 cloud based assessment, teaching, and learning solutions	$40M	CapitalG, Hellman & Friedman & 15 others	65/100
2nd	Languify 2021, Bengaluru (India), Seed	Provider of AI-driven language assessment platform	$339K	Titan Capital, Norrsken Evolve & 21 others	56/100
3rd	Smartail 2019, Chennai (India), Seed	AI-based content and learning management system	$47.8K	MYCap Investments, Leaders For India Organization ... & 1 others	55/100
4th	Formative 2013, Santa Monica (United States), Acquired	Online platform offering real-time instruction tools for educators	$70M	Summit Partners, MaC Venture Capital & 5 others	54/100
5th	Turnitin 2000, Oakland (United States), Acquired	Provider of plagiarism detection and assessment platform for teachers	-	Georgian, Ares Capital Corporation & 9 others	53/100
6th	Eedi 2015, London (United Kingdom), Series A	Developer of diagnostic engines and infrastructure for educational assessment tools	$3.87M	LEGO Ventures, HV Capital & 5 others	53/100
7th	Geekie 2011, Sao Paulo (Brazil), Series B	Learning management system provider for schools	$7M	Mitsui, Omidyar Network & 3 others	53/100
8th	Peergrade.io 2015, Copenhagen (Denmark), Seed	Peer assignment grading and feedback tool	$1.92M	Learn Capital, Project A & 7 others	51/100
9th	Mindprint Learning 2013, Princeton (United States), Acquired	Online platform offering cognitive assessment learning solutions for children	$2.2M	Martinson Ventures, EduLab Capital Partners ... & 5 others	50/100
10th	Verificient Technologies 2012, New York City (United States), Seed	Provider of online proctoring solutions	$3.64M	Expansion Venture Capital, Westway Capital ... & 3 others	49/100