ANOTHER APOLLO MISSION: Like the Greek and Roman god it was named after, Apollo Education Group dabbles in many ventures. It runs for-profit online colleges (most notably University of Phoenix) and vocational schools around the world, along with Carnegie Learning, developer of a popular adaptive math product, Cognitive Tutor.
The publicly-traded company's latest project: Apollo Education Ventures. Announced on Dec. 4, the group will make minority investments in "post-secondary education (including high school pathways), professional development and related human capital sectors."
Apollo Education Ventures is partnering with Touchdown Ventures, a venture capital and investment advisory firm announced on the same day that will help with deal sourcing, due diligence and other duties. Fortune's Dan Primack described Touchdown Ventures as "an outsourced platform for creating corporate venture capital groups." In other words--a venture capital firm that manages others.
