NE

NewSchools Venture Fund

VC
Oakland, CAWebsite

NewSchools Venture Fund is a Pre-Seed, Seed venture capital firm based in Oakland, CA investing in EdTech, Other. The firm typically writes $50K–$500K checks and has 4 portfolio companies in our records.

Check size
$50K–$500K
Portfolio
4 companies on record
Partners
6 listed
AUM
$71M
Stage
Pre-Seed, Seed
Sectors
EdTech, Other
HQ
Oakland, CA

Last verified: 2026-05-23

How to approach: cold outreach ok
Stage

Pre-Seed, Seed

Check Size

$50K – $500K

AUM

$71M

Portfolio

4+ companies

Team

6 partners

Investor activity
Last known investment: 2021Investments in last 12 months: 0

Investment Thesis

NSVF supports early-stage EdTech companies and nonprofit ventures that address critical challenges in K-12 education.

How NewSchools Venture Fund invests

NewSchools Venture Fund is a vc firm based in Oakland, CA. The firm invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed stages, with a focus on EdTech, Other.

NewSchools Venture Fund typically writes checks of $50K–$500K per investment, backed by approximately $71M in assets under management.

Investing since at least 2020, NewSchools Venture Fund has backed 4 companies in our records, including Newsela, Zearn, Edmodo. Its most recent recorded investment was in 2021.

Partners & Team

SB

Scott Benson

Managing Partner

K-12 Education
VB

Valerie Braimah

Senior Associate Partner

school models
economically & racially diverse students
instructional & school reform
AV

Andrew Vega

Senior Associate Partner, Innovative Schools

innovative schools
turnaround
equity
new school launches
FM

Frances Messano

Chief Executive Officer

investment strategy
diverse leaders
innovative schools
PF

Pete Fishman

Senior Partner, Teaching Reimagined

educator pathways
community engagement
innovations in teaching
CW

Cameron White

Senior Partner, Learning Solutions & Learning Differences

learning solutions
learning differences
equity
edtech

Industry Focus

Invests In

EdTech
Other

Portfolio Companies (4)

2021

NE

Newsela

EdTech·Growth

2020

ZE

Zearn

EdTech·Growth

Other

ED

Edmodo

K-12 Education
NE

Nearpod

EdTech
How to pitch NewSchools Venture Fund
  • Raising at Pre-Seed, Seed? You're squarely in their sweet spot.
  • Lead with your fit in EdTech, Other — the sectors they actively back.
  • Size your ask to their typical $50K – $500K check.
  • cold outreach ok
  • Address your outreach to a specific partner, such as Scott Benson, Managing Partner.
  • A warm introduction beats a cold email. Get matched and request an intro.

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