tech-company, softwareDesmos is a online graphing calculator which is used daily by millions of students for learning math. It offers a low-latency, highly available service (it can even be embedded in other sites) even though it is completely free and doesn’t show a single advertisement.
How then, I am at a loss to understand, does it make money? Where does it draw its funding from?
They raised capital:
(In 2012) the company raised $800,000 from Kapor Capital, Learn Capital, Kindler Capital, and Elm Street Ventures. And on Wednesday Desmos is announcing that it’s taking an investment from Google Ventures (s goog) to grow its eight-person team and expand. The company declined to share the exact amount of the Google Ventures investment but said it brings their total raised to more than $1 million.
As to making money, that same article mentions they are looking to
forge partnerships with publishers to make digital textbooks more interactive
And, as Edward Craig mentioned, they would be licensing their API. It looks like one revenue stream they have been pursuing is using Desmos for standardised tests. A modified (test mode) version of the calculator has been used in standardized tests, such as the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness test. Two Canadian school districts, in Quebec and Ontario, have also approved Desmos Test App for their students’ exams.
How then, I am at a loss to understand, does it make money?
They license their API to other partners. Depending on their financial projections, it would be very possible to get investment capital.
Edit: Reworded answer
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