Risepoint Acquires Keypath to Advance Its Mission

Risepoint has announced plans to acquire the North American operations of Keypath Education, a move aimed at expanding its presence in workforce-aligned higher education. The deal brings together an education technology company with more than 100 university partners and a healthcare-focused firm with extensive clinical networks. This acquisition addresses the specific challenges faced by institutions trying to launch programs for speech therapists, counselors, social workers, and pharmacists.

Regional universities often see a high demand for these healthcare professionals in their local communities but struggle to launch programs due to the sheer cost of building them and the difficulty of finding enough training sites. Keypath’s existing network of nearly 15,000 healthcare sites and more than 28,000 preceptors across all 50 states provides the infrastructure needed to solve this staffing problem. The clinical placement capability addresses one of the biggest obstacles to expanding the healthcare workforce: getting students the supervised, hands-on experience their credentials require.

Steve Fireng, founder and CEO of Keypath Education, stated in a release that his organization has worked with universities for over a decade to build programs that prepare students for careers and meet workforce needs. He expressed confidence that Risepoint would continue to build on the foundation Keypath created. Fernando Bleichmar, CEO of Risepoint, framed the acquisition around combining his company’s scale in online education with Keypath’s clinical placement expertise to help partners build programs that meet both student and workforce demands.

Risepoint’s approach to education involves providing upfront capital to build and grow a program, but they are compensated only as students progress toward graduation. Academic decisions, including curriculum, instruction, admissions, and financial aid, are owned exclusively by the university. This structure ties the company’s success to students advancing rather than just enrolling.

By integrating Keypath’s capabilities, they aim to deepen their commitment to workforce-aligned education across more disciplines where the need is most acute and the barriers to entry are high. The acquisition brings new partners and programs, but the operational approach for the universities involved is unlikely to shift.

Steve Fireng’s confidence in Risepoint’s ability to continue building on the foundation Keypath created is a sign to the strength of the acquisition. The deal has the potential to make a significant impact on the healthcare workforce, particularly in regions where there is a high demand for speech therapists, counselors, social workers, and pharmacists.

The acquisition is expected to be completed in the near future, and it will be interesting to see how it plays out. Risepoint and Keypath Education are both well-established companies in the education technology sector, and their combined expertise will likely lead to innovative solutions for workforce-aligned higher education.