The nonprofit Lemnis has acquired Mainstay, an ed-tech company whose AI-powered student support tools are used by more than 200 colleges and universities in the U.S., and will transition the company into a nonprofit division, according to a news release this week. The move reflects Lemnis' strategy of acquiring ed-tech organizations to operate under its own umbrella.
Mainstay is Lemnis' second ed-tech acquisition this year, following its purchase of the student-coaching provider InsideTrack in February. Together, the deals point toward an emphasis on combining technology-driven outreach with human support.
"[T]he next chapter of education will be shaped by organizations that successfully combine breakthrough technology with the empathy, support and care that only humans can provide," Lemnis founder and CEO Melissa Johnston said in a public statement. "Expanding opportunity for students in an increasingly complex world requires reimagining how technology and human connection work together to deliver the kinds of learning experiences that every student deserves."
Mainstay sells AI-enabled communication tools designed to support students in tasks like enrollment, financial aid and course completion, the news release said. Colleges and universities use the platform to provide proactive outreach and guidance intended to improve student grades and persistence. The release pointed to research supporting that kind of academic support: a 2018 study by the Brookings Institution that found that text outreach made students 3.3 percent more likely to begin their fall semester; a 2020 white paper from the Annenberg Institute, Brown University's education research arm, that found text-based outreach helped draw student attention to important administrative tasks; and another 2024 study that found that proactive, course-specific chatbot messages made students 4 percent more likely to earn an A or B in that course.
Moreover, Mainstay CEO Tony Frey said shifting to a nonprofit structure will allow the company to expand its reach and maintain its work with institutions.
"For more than a decade, our work has been about helping institutions bring evidence-based, technology-enabled strategies to bear on helping students take the next step in their educational journey,” Frey said in a public statement. "Emerging technologies have tremendous potential to help more students navigate the path to and through college. But that only works if they're built and implemented in ways that improve — not reduce — human connection and interaction.”
