# LightSail Education

> LightSail Education is a New York-founded K-12 literacy software company that combines a digital library, an adaptive Lexile-based e-reader, embedded assessments, writing and fluency tools, accessibility supports, and teacher analytics. Its defining business lesson is the move from a tablet-era product reported at $75 per student in 2013 to a software subscription reported around $10-$12 by 2016, widening distribution before MindPlay acquired the company in 2023.

- **Founded:** 2012
- **Headquarters:** New York, United States
- **Founders:** Gideon Stein (Co-founder and founding CEO), Steven Gittleson (Co-founder, founding CTO and current CEO)
- **Team size:** 13 employees in supplied company data; LinkedIn lists 11-50 employees
- **Products:** Adaptive e-Reader and Digital Library, Teacher and District Analytics, Content Builder, Writing Solutions, Fluency Builder
- **Notable:** Won top honors and a $500,000 grant in the Gates Foundation's 2013 Literacy Courseware Challenge., Won the education category at the inaugural SXSW V2V pitch competition in 2013., Received a five-star rating and Top Pick recognition from Common Sense Media's former Graphite educator-review service.

## Products & services

- **Adaptive e-Reader and Digital Library** — Lexile-based personalized reading with embedded cloze questions, read-aloud, vocabulary support, videos and a catalog of bundled and purchasable titles.
- **Teacher and District Analytics** — Dashboards and reports for reading time, comprehension, Lexile growth and activity at student, class, school and district levels.
- **Content Builder** — Tools for educators to import multilingual web pages, documents, PDFs and EPUBs, remove distractions and add standards-aligned questions or annotations.
- **Writing Solutions** — Planning, drafting, feedback and publishing workflows for essays, authentic writing, and student- or teacher-authored multimedia books.
- **Fluency Builder** — Recorded read-aloud assignments, digital running records, retelling activities, rubrics and words-correct-per-minute tracking.
- **Personalized Reader** — Accessibility and decoding supports including text-to-speech, font and visual adjustments, syllabification, focus tools and accommodations for struggling readers.
- **Team Reading and Tournaments** — Synchronized group reading plus badges, leaderboards and reading or grammar competitions designed to build participation.
- **LightHouse for Families** — A family-facing version of the literacy platform delivered in partnership with TBD Media, with parent controls and home learning features.
- **Human Implementation Support** — Account management, instructional coaching, rostering, library curation, workshops, data reviews and optional on-site technical help.

## Achievements

- Won top honors and a $500,000 grant in the Gates Foundation's 2013 Literacy Courseware Challenge.
- Won the education category at the inaugural SXSW V2V pitch competition in 2013.
- Received a five-star rating and Top Pick recognition from Common Sense Media's former Graphite educator-review service.
- Won the Mindful Data Digital Innovation in Learning Award from EdSurge and Digital Promise.
- Reached more than 200,000 students across 700-plus schools and districts by March 2016, according to EdSurge.
- Selected for Project Literacy Lab in 2016 as it expanded into international markets.
- Received U.S. Patent No. 10,109,213 for an educational e-reader platform.
- Acquired by MindPlay Education in March 2023.

## Latest updates

- **2020-03** — LightSail offered school support materials and remote-learning guidance during COVID-19 closures.
- **2021-2022** — Product materials described expanded writing, fluency, personalized-reader and blended-learning modules plus a catalog reaching 150,000 purchasable trade titles.
- **2023-03** — MindPlay Education acquired LightSail Education for an undisclosed amount.
- **2026-08** — LightSail's website remains active under Rosen-LightSail branding, with school, homeschool and family offerings; no newer corporate transaction was identified.

## Links

- Website: https://lightsailed.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lightsail-inc-
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/lightsailed
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LightSail-Education-100603700127278/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/lightsail-education
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-21