Highfive secures $250k seed funding to expand empathy-based edtech solution in U.S. schools

Highfive, an edtech company based in the United States, has raised $250,000 in seed funding to expand its presence in schools nationwide. 

The investment round was led by Roosh X, with additional support from LearnLaunch Accelerator, a US-based edtech accelerator. The funding will allow Highfive to implement its platform in five key states, aiming to serve 100 new schools by the end of the year.

Since founding in 2023, Highfive has developed an empathy-driven platform to help schools address student behaviour and improve school environments. The company, co-founded by Nathan Maynard, Dr. Luke Roberts, and Laura Morton, focuses on reducing suspensions and helping students develop critical social skills. 

The platform is currently active in 36 states, with 30,000 monthly users, and has saved 850,000 hours of school administrative time.

Roosh X will co-build the next version of the Highfive platform, adding AI capabilities and streamlining manual processes for educators. This partnership will help Highfive focus on its goal of expanding its reach to more schools while improving its platform's usability. 

Speaking exclusively to ETIH, Nathan Maynard, Highfive CEO and Co-Founder, comments:

“This investment, and partnership with Roosh X, comes at an exciting time for us. As we scale, we remain committed to empowering schools with the resources to create safer, more inclusive learning spaces that improve outcomes for students and the wider community. 

“So often the classroom environment can become adversarial, which benefits neither teachers nor students. We believe that our tools – built on research, and drawing from decades of experience – can ensure both teachers and students feel heard, respected, and supported.”

Collaboration with Roosh X

Roosh X, the investment arm of Roosh Investment Group, will support Highfive’s growth by helping to develop a scalable version of its product. The company also plans to integrate AI into Highfive's platform to automate manual reporting and provide technical assistance to the team. 

Highfive’s work has been implemented in schools such as the League School and Southern Cross, which saw no exclusionary suspensions from 2021 to 2023. The conflict resolution tool has been used in schools to mediate tense situations, such as in Arlington, Texas, following a school shooting in 2022.

The seed funding will allow Highfive to target low-performing schools with high suspension rates, aiming to reduce exclusionary discipline practices. 

Highfive plans to double its user base to 15,000 by the end of 2024. The platform will focus on addressing behaviour issues in K-12 schools, particularly in communities with high rates of discipline-related problems.