Newsela Acquires Generation Genius to Enhance Real-World Connections in Science and Math
NEW YORK, Feb. 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Newsela, a leading provider of high-quality instructional and assessment products for K-12, announced today that the company has acquired Generation Genius, a trusted educational streaming platform for K-8 science and math videos, activities, and lessons. With Generation Genius in its suite of products, Newsela continues to make it easier to deliver meaningful learning across all core subjects.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Generation Genius into the Newsela family. Our company launched with the idea that the foundation to learning is enabling students to make real-world connections through engaging, accessible content. This addition is another step towards deepening our impact on student outcomes and supporting teachers in what they do best,” said Pep Carrera, Chief Executive Officer at Newsela.
“Generation Genius was created to get kids excited to learn science by delivering inspiring lessons to classrooms across the country. To do that, we created the highest quality educational videos in the industry, earning us an Emmy nomination along the way. Now, teaming up with Newsela means we can reach even more students to further our mission. We’re excited to continue providing the standards-aligned resources schools know and love at an even greater scale,” said Dr. Jeff Vinokur, Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Generation Genius.
Generation Genius was founded in 2017 by Dr. Jeff Vinokur, a scientist who earned his PhD in Biochemistry from UCLA and TV personality, and co-founder Eric S. Rollman, an Emmy-winning children’s TV executive. Generation Genius was created to modernize educational science videos used in schools. Dr. Jeff, known for his appearances on Good Morning America and NBC’s Today Show, saw that science videos in schools were decades outdated so he set out to create fresh, engaging content for today’s generation. Generation Genius quickly found traction, earning the #1 spot in the education industry on the Inc. 500 list in 2022 and landing on Time Magazine’s TIME100’s list of the most influential companies in the world in 2023. Today, Generation Genius is used in 30% of elementary schools across the U.S.
Combining Newsela’s differentiated, standards-aligned content, writing assignments, and robust assessment capabilities with Generation Genius’s engaging science and math lessons, Newsela will deliver a new experience that empowers students to read deeply, write confidently, think critically, and demonstrate their learning—all while driving measurable results aligned to educators’ goals. The company plans to share more later this year about how they’ll bring this vision to life.
The acquisition of Generation Genius continues another year of exciting updates from Newsela. Just over a year ago, Newsela acquired Formative, a fast-growing assessment tool that powers real-time feedback, standards-aligned activities, and reporting for districts. The team has continued to release updates to Formative’s standalone product including practice sets, teacher-based lessons, AI supports, and more. They’ve also expanded Formative’s offerings with a newly launched Balanced Assessment Suite, which provides everything a district needs to connect daily instruction with district-wide assessments and data, driving better insights that inform teaching, learning, and decision-making at every level.
Newsela also recently launched a new AI-powered writing solution, Newsela Writing, that enables teachers of all subject areas to support writing practice in their classrooms. With early enthusiasm for the tool’s real-time, rubric-aligned feedback, districts are already beginning to incorporate Newsela Writing into their writing initiatives for the coming year.
With this continued expansion of innovative products, Newsela is committed to bringing new solutions to support the company’s mission of meaningful classroom learning for every student.
The deal is valued at $100 million and comprises primarily cash and performance-based payments.
About Newsela
Newsela products are purpose-built to unlock student motivation, inspire teachers, and drive long-lasting learning outcomes. With a suite of products to support knowledge- and skill building, writing practice, daily instruction, and assessment in K-12 classrooms, Newsela offers solutions backed by learning science research to drive student outcomes and support teachers in their instructional goals. To learn more about Newsela, visit the company’s website.
About Generation Genius
Generation Genius is a K-8 teaching resource that brings school science standards to life through fun and educational videos paired with lesson plans, activities, quizzes, reading material, and more. Our videos are produced in partnership with the National Science Teaching Association, and aligned to standards in all 50 states. To learn more about Generation Genius, visit the company’s website.
CONTACT: Jeff Vinokur jeff@generationgenius.com
