Dive Brief:

• Education technology startup ConnectEDU has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, laying off all but 10 of around 65 employees.
• The filing comes on the heels of receiving a $500,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in September.
• The company said in the Chapter 11 filing that it has more than 200 creditors, assets of $1 million to $10 million, and liabilities of $10 million to $50 million.

Dive Insight:

The company’s chief executive officer, Even Nisonson, was among the dozens of ConnectEDU employees laid off on Monday, BostInno reported. Chief Financial Officer Paul Sheppard is among the 10 employees who will stay on. New Market Education Partners, a Maryland education venture capital firm, is the largest creditor, with $1 million owed by ConnectEDU. The company was founded in 2002 with the goal of helping students and advisors track their courses and their performance through high school and college. In 2011,  it raised $10 million in venture capital funding for its web-based college admissions platform for students.