A San Diego adventure at the 15th Annual ASU+GSV Conference ('Here Comes the Sun...and AI') - PART 3 of 3

Rob Strulowitz, Managing Director

April 28, 2024

To memorialize our trip to the 15th Annual ASU+GSV Summit, we took a journalistic view of this year's event to capture the essence for those who haven't been.   For our money, this is THE edTech conference to attend each year to not only connect to macro and micro industry trends, but more importantly to connect in person (in our case the Edtech investment community).

In Part 3 of 3, we'll look back at the conference in full swing, with a focus on Tuesday and Wednesday, culminating with a memorable Closing Dinner ceremony at the Shell on the San Diego Waterfront.

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2024

Tuesday morning was a return to The Landings Bar at the Manchester Grand Hyatt for a series of meetings with our private equity investor network.   We arrived early, knowing that seats are a premium and was fortunate to find an open table for the morning block.  The overriding theme was enthusiasm.  Edtech investment is slowly returning, although more in conversations than actual transactions, but the mood is definitely improving. 

We believe that Edtech (as GSV calls it 'Pre-K to Grey') has never seen a more interesting time, with post-pandemic blues impacting the boom of 2020-2022 and the shadow of AI creating more questions than answers on where Edtech is heading.   The innovation opportunities are immense but it's still too early to say how it will all shake out.   We believe business fundamentals will be more important than ever with the market getting more crowded and fragmented.

After our meetings wrapped, we headed upstairs for lunch at the SunStageX Tuesday lunch...

In the first panel, "Here Come the Stars: The Co-founders of Physics Wallah", we were blown away by the sheer magnitude of impact by the founders of Physics Wallah, one of the largest edTech companies in the world.  Moderated by GSV Ventures Managing Partner Deborah Quazzo, this session featured the amazing story of Physics Wallah and their mission to democratize technical skills education in India.  Founded by Alakh Pandey and Prateek Maheshwari (which have a BeatleMania type following in India), the company has exhibited immense growth and impact, making technical skills education affordable for all.   From our time (and love) for India and its people, Physics Wallah is truly an inspirational story.

We caught the second panel "The Role of Universities in Advancing Democracy" featuring Arizona State University President Michael Crow and former US Senator and current University of Florida President Ben Sasse.  This talk focused the state of American democracy and the many roles that colleges and universities play or can play in shaping positive outcomes for everyone.   We found it interesting and timely that higher education institutions are rethinking their relationship with its customers, looking to engage with individuals throughout their lives, not just during the traditional college-age years, emphasizing the need for lifelong learning in a rapidly changing world.

We then shifted gears for our afternoon meetings, taking advantage of a truly beautiful day on the waterfront.   We weren't alone as it seemed many conference attendees had the same idea...

Wednesday was the final day of the conference, and it felt like things were slowing down.  We just had a few meetings throughout the day, and looked for additional inspiration before heading back to Paris.  We wandered upstairs to the StageX Wednesday lunch and did not leave San Diego disappointed.   

We caught the first panel, "Barbies, Beyonce, Swifties…The Women’s Revolution is Here", we witnessed a truly powerful collection of Edtech women executives including Ashley Andersen Zantop (Chairman and CEO, Cambium Learning Group), Jamie Candee (CEO, Edmentum), Kate Eberle Walker (CEO, Presence), Phyllis Lockett (Founder & Senior Advisor, LEAP Innovations).  Moderated by Jane Swift (Former Governor and President, Education at Work), the panel discussed ongoing progress and challenges in the empowerment of women in leadership roles, especially in the education sector.    Jamie Candee said it best, "Never forget what it felt like to be the only woman at the table. Each and every day, wake up thinking about how you give that back, how you empower every other woman, getting more women to the table."

We ended our ASU+GSV Summit experience at the Closing Dinner Ceremony at The Shell on the San Diego Waterfront.

It was a beautiful sunny early evening at The Shell, a unique waterfront amphitheatre located a ten minute walk from the Manchester Grand Hyatt.   Smiles were everywhere as you just couldn't ask for better weather in a better venue.

The highlight of the evening was the "Lifetime Achievement Award for Luis von Ahn, the CEO of Duolingo".  Duolingo has a pretty amazing origin story with an unlikely founder who has impacted the world of language learning at global scale.  If you didn't know, Luis is from Guatemala and started Duolingo as a thesis project at the University of Pittsburgh, with the goal of providing free language learning for all.   He's certainly achieved this mission and was both humble and ambitious in his plans for Duolingo's next wave of global impact.

After a festival dance party courtesy of a seasoned and diverse cover band playing the hits of yesterday and today, the 15th ASU+GSV Summit wrapped under the stars.   

Hope you enjoyed our ASU+GSV travelogue.  See you next year in San Diego!