Seattle, Washington, USA (January 9, 2023) — The GSV Cup selected Cirkled In for The Elite 200. This list recognizes the top semifinalists in the 2023 competition.

The GSV Cup is the world’s largest EdTech pitch competition for early-stage digital learning and workforce skills startups. The competition will take place at the ASU+GSV Summit from April 17–19, 2023, in San Diego, CA.

Powered by GSV Ventures, Google Cloud, HolonIQ, HubSpot for Startups, and ASU RealmSpark, the Cup will award $1 million in cash and prizes.

Cirkled In was selected from a global applicant pool of 900+ startups across 69 countries, making it the largest and most competitive pool in the history of the GSV Cup. Notably, this distinction highlights the platform’s growing global impact.

In addition, more than 200 judges from leading venture capital firms and strategic partners in digital learning and workforce skills participated in the evaluation process. Specifically, these experts brought deep industry knowledge and investment experience. As a result, the selection process reflected both rigor and real-world relevance. These included Accel, Bessemer Venture Partners, Blume Ventures, ECMC Group, NEA, Pear, Owl Ventures, Reach Capital, and others. Together, they leveraged a rigorous framework to assess each startup and determine the 200 most promising companies.

 “We are absolutely thrilled to be recognized among such amazing group of companies that are trailblazers in Education and Future of Work industry. There are plenty opportunities to make youth recruitment more effective, efficient, and equitable. Cirkled In is proud of its contribution to the modernization of youth recruitment system,” Said Reetu Gupta, CEO and Co-founder of Cirkled In.

 By giving students an award-winning, secure, and engaging young professionals’ platform, Cirkled In is empowering Gen-Z youth (K-16 grade) to showcase their professional identity holistically and is connecting them with the best-fit educational and employment opportunities creating win-win. Cirkled In provides one-stop-shop to students for educational and employment opportunities.

We are proud to support over three quarter million students on Cirkled In to help them showcase themselves and get matched with the best fit opportunities.

“Our GSV Cup semifinalists epitomize our 2023 theme, Brave New World – you can’t use an old map for a new world. These 200 companies are charting new courses and drawing new maps to achieve the scaled delivery of learning and skills. We all hope to achieve the mission that ALL people deserve equal access to the future through the innovations of these great founders,” said Deborah Quazzo, Managing Partner of GSV Ventures and Co-founder of the ASU+GSV Summit.

The Elite 200 companies selected as semifinalists in this year’s competition support learners from Pre-K to Gray and are well-distributed across the categories of Early Childhood, K-12, Higher Education, Adult Consumer Learning, and Workforce Learning. Among this year’s Elite 200 companies:

●        43% of companies are headquartered outside of the United States

●        52% of companies have female founder(s)

●        48% of companies have founder(s) that identify as people of color

The 2023 Elite 200 join an illustrious group of startups with past winners and semifinalists.

See Cirkled In selected to the GSV Cup Elite 200 at https://www.asugsvsummit.com/gsv-cup-elite-200

ABOUT CIRKLED IN

Cirkled In is an award-winning, 21st-century platform for young professionals. It empowers Gen Z students (K–20) to showcase their professional identity and connect with best-fit educational and career opportunities — creating a true win-win.

The platform enables students to tell their stories and access meaningful opportunities. It also serves as a go-to hub for college recruiters and employers seeking best-fit talent. By matching talent with the right opportunities, Cirkled In makes youth recruitment more effective, efficient, and equitable.

The American Business Awards recognized Cirkled In as a “Top 10 Company in the U.S.” Additionally, the organization awarded the company two People’s Choice Awards for Favorite New Product. Together, these honors highlight the platform’s innovation and growing industry impact.

About ASU+GSV Summit

The ASU+GSV Summit brings together global leaders to drive technology innovation in education and workforce skills, making it the premier event in this space. We believe that ALL people deserve equal access to the future. Started in 2010 with a collaboration between Arizona State University (ASU) and Global Silicon Valley (GSV), the annual Summit connects leading minds focused on transforming society and business around learning and work. Educators, investors, industry leaders, and entrepreneurs from around the world come together to innovate the future of education for all. Hosted in San Diego, over 5,300 people attended in April 2022. Speakers from previous years include President Barack Obama, President George W. Bush, Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, John Legend, Common, Marian Wright Edelman, Bill Gates, Sandra Day O’Connor, Reed Hastings, President Vicente Fox, Malcolm Gladwell, Gloria Steinem, Tony Blair, and Howard Schultz.

For Media Relations contact: media@cirkledin.com