Proctor360

Proctor360 is an emerging educational technology, or “EdTech,” company.

Targeting the fast-growing sector for remote proctoring — administering exams virtually, or remotely — this company has developed a patent-pending system for securely monitoring online exams.

Proctor360’s system was designed for schools, universities, training programs, even sensitive testing environments regulated by the U.S. government.

After being named a top EdTech Startup of 2020, and completing Amazon’s AWS EdStart Initiative, this company began generating revenue last year. Now it’s seeking capital to scale its business and onboard customers eagerly waiting to use its disruptive system.

Remote proctoring is an important sector within the e-learning market, projected to reach $1 trillion globally by 2027. As mentioned, it involves providing tools and services to remotely monitor students’ exams, and touches schools, universities, training programs, and certification organizations.

More than $430 million was spent on remote proctoring services in 2020. And the sector is projected to reach $1.3 billion by 2027. But there are problems…

Specifically, exams taken online need to have the same integrity as those taken in-person. And without the ability to monitor test takers, this is a challenge.

Additionally, those in need of remote proctoring sometimes require different features. For instance, a government training test which involves sensitive or classified information might need different proctoring requirements than students taking a state bar exam or a college test.

Traditional cameras are often used to monitor test takers. But this technology can’t capture the entire testing scene. Only Proctor360 can do that.

As the company’s name suggests, Proctor360’s system captures a complete, 360-degree view of the testing environment. The system is a patent-pending remote headset that the test taker wears during the online exam.

In addition to a camera, the headset includes a microphone to capture audio and allow the test taker to communicate with the proctor. There’s also proprietary software that enables customers to use an Artificial Intelligence-equipped automated proctor, or take advantage of AI assistance for human proctoring.

Notably, Proctor360 has even developed a secure, government compliant, siloed version of its system. This enables the company to acquire customers in markets regulated by the government and administer proctoring for testing related to national security. (These are markets that competitors can’t disrupt.)

Proctor360’s pricing model is based on proctoring type, optional add-ons, and exam volume. According to the company, using its system to administer 100,000 exams would generate $1.5 million in revenue. And based on 300,000 exams, that would jump to $4.5 million.

As mentioned, Proctor360’s headsets are in use by academic customers and more schools are waiting for a larger production run. The company will use funds from this latest crowdfunding round to meet this demand and work on a second version of its headset.

Team Background

Don Kassner - Strategic Advisor

Don began his career in the education field, serving as adjunct professor of Economics at San Jose State University. From there, he was President and Chief Operating Officer of Andrew Jackson University, a small, accredited program which he converted from an in-person to online format.

He then founded ProctorU, which became one of the leading remote proctoring companies in the world. At its peak, the company had more than 1,000 clients and proctored more than 1 million exams a year. Don left this business to become Vice President of Sales with Questionmark, a software development company offering proctoring services to enterprise clients.

More recently, he became President of MonitorEDU, a remote proctoring company. He holds this position in addition to being an advisor to Proctor360.

Don holds a Master’s degree in Economics from San Jose State University.

Ganga Bathula - Co-Founder & CEO

Ganga has more than a decade of experience in the proctoring sector, providing services for both online and in-person testing.

Prior to starting Proctor360, he was Director of GIT Services, a technology company providing professional training and IT services to customers in the education market. Before that, he was an IT consultant with Merit Medical Systems, a company manufacturing medical equipment.

Throughout his career, Ganga has been awarded U.S. and international patents for his work. He holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Engineering and received a Mini-MBA from the University of Richmond.

Kranthi Bathula - Co-Founder & CTO

Kranthi’s extensive engineering background enables him to oversee the development and production of Proctor360’s patent-pending headset. He also works on developing the company’s cloud-based software component.

Prior to starting the company with his father, he was a researcher at the Cellular Biomechanics Research Lab, focusing on mechanical engineering applications. Before that, he was a project lead and design engineer with SpherIngenics, a biotech engineering company working on cell-based therapies.

Kranthi earned a Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Co-Investors