专注于数据分析的高等教育初创公司 Straia 已从投资者处筹集 310 万美元，用于帮助学校解决学生留存等问题。
Straia, a higher-education startup focused on data analytics, has raised $3.1 million from investors to help schools tackle issues like student retention.
本轮种子融资由著名风投机构 Andreessen Horowitz 旗下的初创加速器 Speedrun 领投，使 Straia 累计融资额达到 450 万美元。该公司自称为“AI 原生平台”，旨在简化高校存储的海量数据，方便学生顾问和行政人员使用。
The seed round was led by Speedrun, the startup accelerator of famed venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, bringing Straia’s total funding to $4.5 million. The company, which calls itself an AI-native platform, aims to simplify the vast amounts of data housed at universities for student advisers and administrators.
“学校拥有的数据比以往任何时候都多，”联合创始人 Ryan Lau 表示。他与 Gautam Narasimhan、Nikki Dansey 于去年共同创立了该公司。“但由于这些数据分散在各个孤岛中，一线学生服务人员和行政人员几乎无法加以利用。”在创办 Straia 之前，Lau 曾向全国各地的大学冷电话推销，以深入了解它们面临的最大挑战。他最终与位于田纳西州哈里曼的 Roane State Community College（罗恩州立社区学院）取得联系，并在那里跟随行政人员工作了三个月。
“Schools have more data than they’ve ever had before,” said Ryan Lau, who co-founded the company with Gautam Narasimhan and Nikki Dansey last year. “But it’s almost impossible for student-facing staff and administrators to use that data because it’s spread across all these different silos.”Before launching Straia, Lau cold-called universities across the country to better understand their biggest challenges. He eventually connected with Roane State Community College in Harriman, Tennessee, where he spent three months shadowing administrators.
该校学生服务与创新副校长 Jamie Stringer 回忆，他曾告诉 Lau：“数据有很多，但我们没有办法看透这些数据。”他表示，Straia 已帮助解决这一问题，减轻了罗恩州立学院学生成功教练的行政工作负担。例如，教练可以询问平台哪些学生未达到特定学业要求，或利用数据快速准备一对一会谈。
Jamie Stringer, the school’s vice president for student services and innovation, recalled telling Lau that “there’s plenty of data but we don’t have a way to see through it.”He said has Straia has helped with that problem, cutting down on administrative work for Roane State’s student success coaches. They can ask the platform which students aren’t meeting certain academic requirements, for example, or use the data to quickly prepare for one-on-one meetings.
“他们每节省一分钟不做这类工作，就多一分钟陪伴学生，”Stringer 说，并补充道，他自己也使用该平台了解学校的长期趋势。
“Every minute they save not doing that type of work, they’re with the students,” Stringer said, adding that he uses the platform to understand longer-term trends at the school.
Lau 表示，Straia 整合了大学跨部门的数据，有助于解决留存等问题。行政人员可借此判断哪些学生既面临学费支付困难又在课业上吃力，从而视情况进行干预。
Lau said Straia integrates a university’s data across departments, helping to tackle issues like retention. Administrators can use it to determine which students are having trouble paying tuition and also struggling in class, he said, allowing them to intervene if necessary.
“通常情况下，所有这些数据都完全不可用，只有管理员能够访问，因为所使用的工具之间无法互通，”他说。
“Typically, all this data was completely unavailable and accessible to administrators because the tools that are used, they don’t talk to each other,” he said.
虽然名校的留存率通常超过90%，但许多院校在留住学生方面举步维艰。根据国家学生信息中心研究中心的数据，2024年秋季入学的学生中，仅有69%在一年后仍在该校注册。
While prestigious universities often have retention rates exceeding 90%, many institutions struggle to hold onto students. Just 69% of students who started at a postsecondary school in the fall of 2024 were still enrolled there a year later, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.
劳表示，他希望Straia能帮助高校应对招生和留存方面的挑战。
Lau said he hopes Straia will help colleges and universities address challenges around enrollment and retention.
“我想创办这家公司，从根本上是为了帮助管理者和领导者配备他们所需的工具，以便更高效地运营学校，但更重要的是更好地服务学生，”他说。
“I wanted to start this this company to help essentially equip administrators and leaders with the tools they need so they can operate schools more efficiently, but more importantly serve students better,” he said.