When was Primer founded?

Primer was founded in 2019 and raised its 1st funding round 1 year after it was founded.

Where is Primer located?

Primer is headquartered in Oakland, United States.

Who is the current CEO of Primer?

Russ Maschmeyer of Primer. They have also founded 1 company.

How many employees does Primer have?

As of Dec 31, 2022, the latest employee count at Primer is 25.

Is Primer a funded company?

Primer is a funded company, having raised a total of $18.7M across 2 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a $***** Seed round, raised on May 25, 2020.

When was the latest funding round of Primer?

Primer's latest funding was a $***** Series A round on Apr 28, 2022, with participation from 2 investors.

Where does Primer rank among its competitors?

Primer ranks 1st amongst 826 active competitors, none of which are funded.

Who are the top competitors of Primer?

Primer's top competitors include Granite Schools, FP Schools and Dublin City Schools. Among them, Glenbrook High School District 225 secured the most recent funding round in December, 2025.

Primer - 2026 Company Profile, Team, Funding & Competitors

Primer is an acquired company based in Oakland (United States), founded in 2019 by Ryan Delk, Maksim Stepanenko, Adam Debreczeni and Russ Maschmeyer. It operates as a Chains providing instruction in reading writing and math for children. Primer has raised $18.7M in funding from Founders Fund and Khosla Ventures. The company has 826 active competitors, including 2 that have exited. Its top competitors include companies like Granite Schools, FP Schools and Dublin City Schools.

Company Details

Chains providing instruction in reading writing and math for children. The curriculum emphasizes mastery of core academic subjects including literacy and arithmetic. Each facility maintains small class sizes to facilitate student support and individual attention. Instruction incorporates combined grade levels to encourage peer learning and exposure to challenging materials. Students engage in self-directed projects designed to foster independence and connect classroom knowledge to practical life skills. The approach utilizes specific technology tools to support learning objectives and develop digital habits. These physical campuses operate to provide consistent educational experiences for students across different stages of primary schooling.

Website: primer.com
Social
Email ID: *****@primer.com

Key Metrics

Founded Year

2019

Location

Oakland, United States

Stage

Acquired

Total Funding

$18.7M in 2 rounds

Latest Funding Round

Series A, Apr 28, 2022, $*****

Investors

Founders Fund & 14 more

Ranked

1^st among 826 active competitors

Employee Count

25 as on Dec 31, 2022

Similar Companies

BHS & 5091 more

Exit Details

Acquired by Shopify (Jun 11, 2021)

View Primer's full profile

Primer is associated with 1 legal entity given below:

Legal Entity Name	Date of Incorporation	Revenue	Latest Employee Count	Reports
Spark Learning, Inc CIN: 843819592 , United States, Active	Dec 31, 2019	-	77 (As on Dec 31, 2024)	-

Primer got acquired by Shopify on Jun 11, 2021.

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

Primer has raised a total funding of $18.7M over 2 rounds. Its first funding round was on May 25, 2020. Its latest funding round was a Series A round on Apr 28, 2022 for $*****. 2 investors participated in its latest round. Primer has 12 institutional investors and 3 angel investors.

Here is the list of recent funding rounds of Primer:

Date of Funding	Funding Amount	Round Name	Post-Money Valuation	Revenue Multiple	Lead Investors	Other Investors
Apr 28, 2022	1502934	Series A	9624358	8372041	6475480	4130723
May 25, 2020	9982302	Seed	4406660	2276505	Founders Fund	Village Global & 2 more

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View details of Primer's funding rounds and investors

The founders of Primer are Ryan Delk, Maksim Stepanenko, Adam Debreczeni and Russ Maschmeyer. Russ Maschmeyer is the CEO of Primer.

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

Ryan Delk: Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder of Primer. They are also an angel investor in 2 startups.
Maksim Stepanenko: Cofounder, President & CTO of Primer and founder of 1 other company.
Adam Debreczeni: Co-Founder of Primer.
Russ Maschmeyer: Co-Founder & CEO & President of Primer.

View details of Primer's Founder profiles and Board Members

Primer's employee count trend

Primer has 25 employees as of Dec 22. Here is Primer's employee count trend over the years:

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Top competitors of Primer include Granite Schools, FP Schools and Dublin City Schools. Here is the list of Top 10 competitors of Primer, ranked by Tracxn score:

Rank	Company Details	Short Description	Total Funding	Investors	Tracxn Score
1st	Primer 2019, Oakland (United States), Acquired	Chains providing instruction in reading writing and math for children	$18.7M	Abstract Ventures, Syrus Partners & 13 others	62/100
2nd	Granite Schools Holladay (United States), Funding Raised	Operator of public education providing instruction for elementary through high school	-	Military Health, Ojp & 1 others	41/100
3rd	FP Schools Tacoma (United States), Funding Raised	District provides comprehensive K-12 education, including early learning, athletics, and career training	-	ED, HHS	34/100
4th	Dublin City Schools 2000, Dublin (United States), Funding Raised	Public school district providing education, extracurricular activities, and support services	-	HRSA, ED	34/100
5th	Wtps Sewell (United States), Funding Raised	Operator of public schools providing education for students in grades pre-K-12	-	ED	32/100
6th	RCPS Roanoke (United States), Funding Raised	Public school system providing education for elementary, middle, and high school students	-	U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, ED	32/100
7th	Sidwell Edu 1883, Washington (United States), Unfunded	School provides education for lower, middle, and upper school students	-	-	32/100
8th	AA 1955, Albuquerque (United States), Unfunded	Independent school providing college preparatory education for grades six through twelve	-	-	31/100
9th	Fmsd San Jose (United States), Funding Raised	District provides education, nutrition, transportation, and support services to students	-	ED	31/100
10th	Glenbrook High School District 225 1947, Glenview (United States), Funding Raised	Public education provider offering academic and extracurricular programs for high school students	-	HRSA, HHS	31/100