Paperly announces it's next round of funding

Paperly has closed a $3 million funding round, marking a significant leap forward in its mission to lighten the administrative load on schools and give educators more time to focus on what matters most — teaching and student support.

Schools today are navigating heavier compliance requirements, more complex operational processes and increasing pressure to do more with less. This investment arrives at a moment when education leaders are actively searching for technology that can replace outdated, manual systems with smarter, more connected tools.

Paperly has closed a $3 million funding round, marking a significant leap forward in its mission to lighten the administrative load on schools and give educators more time to focus on what matters most — teaching and student support.

Paperly acknowledged the continued support from Purpose Ventures, and welcomed new investors Tribe Global Ventures and Skalata, who join the company as it ramps up product innovation, customer support and international expansion.

Since raising its seed round in 2023, Paperly has experienced 4,600 per cent growth in annual recurring revenue, placing it among the fastest-growing EdTech platforms in the school operations space.

Growth in 2026 & beyond

More than 250 schools are already contracted for 2026, spanning independent and government institutions, multi-campus networks and diocesan groups.

This surge reflects a broader shift across the sector: schools are looking beyond traditional SIS and LMS systems and turning to specialised platforms that can manage the day-to-day operational workflows those systems were never built to handle.

“Since our initial investment we have been impressed with how Dan and Jak have led Paperly’s growth to date and were keen to invest in this round to support their continued expansion into new partnerships and regions”

Kylie Gerrard
Purpose Ventures

How it all started

Paperly was established in 2018 by Daniel Dawson, who saw firsthand how fragmented processes, manual forms and disconnected tools were placing strain on school staff. What began as a narrow focus on core administrative pain points — like excursions, forms and parent communication — has since evolved into a platform capable of supporting hundreds of workflows across the school environment.

In 2023, Jak Tidman joined as Chief Operations Officer and played a key role in accelerating growth, maturing commercial operations and expanding strategic partnerships. His contribution over the following two years led to his formal recognition as co-founder.

“Paperly’s traction proves you can achieve best in class growth despite operating in a sector with notoriously long sales cycles. We’re super excited to be partnering with Dan and Jak and supporting them with their international expansion."

Jack Butler
Tribe Global Ventures

Paperly’s development philosophy is grounded in customer feedback. Sixty per cent of company earnings are reinvested into product improvement, ensuring the platform adapts in line with actual school needs rather than hypothetical feature ideas.

This approach has enabled Paperly to rapidly deliver enhancements that address recurring operational challenges faced by educators, administrators and leadership teams.

Global expansion plans

Demand for Paperly’s platform has prompted the company to grow its physical presence, with teams now operating in Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane and the UK.

The business has also onboarded schools in Asia and continues to receive interest from additional international regions.

To support this growth, Paperly is building local teams to provide region-specific expertise, support and product capability. The United States has been identified as a significant long-term opportunity and a future focus for expansion.

This funding round enables Paperly to:

• Scale further across Australia

• Expand internationally, beginning with the UK and Asia

• Increase investment in engineering and product development

• Strengthen customer experience and support

• Grow strategic partnerships and reseller channels

While this milestone marks major progress, Paperly sees it as the start of a broader journey — one centred on helping schools replace administrative complexity with clarity, consistency and confidence.