Education Technology · Profile from Education Technology Research Companion
Desmos (Desmos Studio PBC)
The San Francisco company that gave away the best graphing calculator in the world. It made the TI-84 optional for millions of students, paid for itself by licensing the calculator to publishers and test makers until it was embedded in the SAT and most US state math tests, built a beloved free teacher-activity platform and a middle-school math curriculum, and in 2022 split in two: the curriculum and classroom business went to Amplify, while the calculators stayed free and independent in Desmos Studio, a public-benefit corporation.
At a glance
- Founded
- 2011 (launched at TechCrunch Disrupt New York, May 2011)
- Founders
- Eli Luberoff (founder and CEO; Yale math and physics graduate)
- Headquarters
- San Francisco, California
- Ownership / structure
- 2011–22: Desmos, Inc., a venture-backed private company. Since May 2022: Desmos Studio PBC, a private public-benefit corporation that owns the calculators; the curriculum and Desmos Classroom (teacher.desmos.com) belong to Amplify
- Leadership (2026)
- Eli Luberoff, CEO of Desmos Studio (verify current titles of other executives)
- Segment and buyer
- K-12 and higher-ed math. Free to students and teachers. Paid by partners: publishers, assessment companies (College Board, Smarter Balanced, NWEA, state testing programmes), curriculum and courseware companies, and other edtechs that embed the calculator via API or licence
- Scale
- Calculators used by tens of millions of students and teachers worldwide (company claims; exact figures vary). Embedded in the SAT Suite and AP exams (Bluebook), ACT online, NWEA MAP Growth, Smarter Balanced and state tests in ~48 states (desmos.com/testing, 2025–26). 75+ partner organisations at the 2022 split. Revenue not disclosed
- Capital raised / valuation / market cap
- ~$1m seed by September 2012 from Kapor Capital, Learn Capital, Kindler Capital, Elm Street Ventures and Google Ventures; later funding (Reach Capital among investors, reported) not fully disclosed. No disclosed valuation. Amplify deal price not disclosed
- Signature moves
- Free web graphing calculator (2011); API and publisher licensing model (~2012–14); free classroom activities and Activity Builder, with Dan Meyer as chief academic officer (2014–15); Smarter Balanced and state testing contracts (2016–17); middle-school math curriculum (2020); the Amplify split and Desmos Studio PBC (2022); digital SAT integration (2023–24); Geometry and 3D calculators (2023). Misses and costs: curriculum required a partner to sell; Desmos Classroom left the Desmos brand in 2025 when Amplify renamed it
8 strategic moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
2011
Launch Free Graphing Calculator
Launch
2013
API and Partner Licensing Model
Business model / partnership
2015
Teacher Activities and Activity Builder
Launch
2017
Smarter Balanced and State Testing
Partnership
2020
Middle School Math Curriculum
Launch
2022
Amplify Split and Desmos Studio PBC
Divestiture / restructuring (sale of curriculum and classroom business; spin-out of calculators into a PBC)
2023
Digital SAT Calculator Integration
Partnership
2023
Geometry and 3D Calculators
Launch