Amplify (company)

History

Wireless Generation was founded in 2000 by Larry Berger and Greg Gunn in the USA. The company sold its products and services to USA districts and states that used government funding for early reading and other programs. It also developed and maintained the New York City online warehouse of student data ARIS, and wrote the algorithm for the School of One, the New York City Department of Education's math help system. Berger served as the CEO of Wireless Generation until it was sold to News Corporation in 2010.

News Corp purchased a 90% stake in Wireless Generation for $360 million in 2010. At the time of the sale, the users of Wireless Generation software included three million students and 200,000 educators. Following the acquisition, News Corp invested $540 million into Amplify in order to expand its digital and tablet-based curriculum.

Joel Klein, former chancellor for the New York City Department of Education and an executive vice-president with News Corp served as the Wireless Generation's new CEO. As CEO, Klein stated that the company's goal was to encourage the integration of computer technology into the common educational environment.

In 2012, News Corp changed the name of its subsidiary to Amplify. That year, Amplify partnered with Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium to develop reporting tools for teacher assessment. In 2013, they partnered again to create a digital library of formative test items and assessment tools.

In 2013, Amplify released the Amplify Tablet, a customized Asus Android tablet with a suite of subscription-based software for K-12 teaching. The company released a new version of the Amplify Tablet designed by Intel in 2014. In 2015, the company ceased marketing the tablet to new customers.

In October 2015, News Corp sold Amplify to a management team supported by a group of private investors, including Emerson Collective. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Larry Berger became CEO.

In 2018, Fast Company reported that Amplify's revenue was $125 million and served almost 4 million students. Also that year, the company released two digital supplemental programs, Amplify Close Reading and Amplify Fractions.

In October 2021, Amplify raised $215 million in growth funding. In May 2023, Amplify received additional funding from Cox Enterprises and others to further its K-12 product offerings.

In May 2022, Amplify acquired the Desmos curriculum and the website teacher.desmos.com. Desmos Studio was spun off as a separate public benefit corporation focused on building free-to-use math tools, such as an online graphing calculator. As of 2022, the company's mCLASS learning assessment and dyslexia screening was administered to a total of around 1.6 million students in some 35 states.

In 2025, Desmos Classroom, a platform for math, was renamed Amplify Classroom and began offering new lessons in science and literacy.

Partnerships

Amplify partnered with the Core Knowledge Foundation to publish and distribute materials across the U.S. for its Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) program and its Spanish-language counterpart Caminos. CKLA is based on the science of reading and teaches reading, writing, listening, and speaking to students in preschool through Grade 5. It includes material related to literature, American history, and the natural sciences.

Amplify developed Amplify Science in collaboration with the Lawrence Hall of Science at the University of California, Berkeley. The curriculum is aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards.

References

References

1. Dawson, Christopher. (2012-07-23). "News Corp unveils Amplify: New partnership with AT&T for digital ed".
2. Anna Phillips. (November 22, 2010). "Murdoch buys education tech company Wireless Generation". [[Chalkbeat]].
3. Travis Andrews. (August 29, 2013). "Inside News Corp's $540 Million Bet on American Classrooms". [[Mashable]].
4. Alpert, Lukas I.. (2015-09-30). "News Corp Sells Its Amplify Education Businesses". Wall Street Journal.
5. (January 18, 2013). "Joel Klein interview". Wall Street Journal.
6. (July 23, 2012). "News Corp brands education business Amplify". [[AP Online]].
7. Cavanagh, Sean. (March 14, 2013). "Amplify Insight Wins Contract from Common-Core Testing Consortium".
8. Schaffhauser, Dian. (March 18, 2013). "Amplify Insight Creating Digital Library of Assessment Tools for Smarter Balanced".
9. (6 March 2013). "News Corp. Has a Tablet for Schools". The New York Times.
10. (12 September 2013). "No Child Left Untableted". The New York Times.
11. "News Corp.'s Amplify Unveils Education Tablet". PC Magazine.
12. Carol Rotella. (September 12, 2013). "No Child Left Untableted". New York Times.
13. Sean Cavanagh, [https://marketbrief.edweek.org/marketplace-k-12/news_corp_announces_plans_to_wind_down_amplifys_tablet_business/ "News Corp. Announces Plans to Wind Down Amplifyís Tablet Business,"] [https://marketbrief.edweek.org/ "MarketBrief"], August 13, 2015.
14. (October 1, 2015). "News Corp sells digital education brand Amplify".
15. Baker, Liana B.. (November 21, 2015). "Laurene Powell Jobs backs Amplify education company bought from News Corp".
16. Harris, Ainsley. (16 October 2018). "Inside Laurene Powell Jobs's big bet on digital curriculum".
17. (28 June 2018). "All the Upgrades and Updates From Apple, Google and More at ISTE 2018 - EdSurge News".
18. (October 26, 2021). "Amplify Raises $215M in Growth Funding".
19. Caffrey, Michelle. (June 2, 2023). "K-12 Dealmaking: Substitute Teaching Startup Secures $38M; Amplify Raises Undisclosed Series C".
20. (May 23, 2023). "Amplify Raises Series C Funding".
21. Kuykendall, Kristal. (2012-05-18). "Amplify Acquires Desmos' Math Curriculum; Desmos Calculators to Spin Off, Remain Free -".
22. Griesbach, Rebecca. (May 23, 2023). "Dyslexia advocates, parents warn against efforts to tweak Alabama reading program".
23. Fofaria, Rupen. (August 28, 2022). "Elementary students made growth last year in skills that lead to reading proficiency, new data show".
24. (May 29, 2025). "Exciting changes are coming to Desmos Classroom".
25. Smith, Mike. (July 6, 2023). "IRSD elementary schools taking on major shift to CKLA model".
26. Schimke, Ann. (October 18, 2022). "How a Colorado district changed its reading curriculum to better reflect students". Chalkbeat.
27. Mongeau Hughes, Lillian. (July 1, 2018). "Will new standards improve elementary science education?".