MISSOULA, Mont. –, a pioneer in student transportation software for K-12 school districts, announced it has received a strategic growth investment from Serent Capital, a growth-focused private equity firm that partners with founder-led, B2B SaaS and technology companies.

For nearly 50 years, Edulog has grown from introducing one of the first algorithmic bus routing systems in North America to serving thousands of school districts across the U.S. and Canada. Edulog’s software solutions are designed to enhance student safety, improve operational efficiency, and reduce transportation costs.

“Our mission is to help school districts make the most of their resources. With Serent’s backing, we can broaden our reach to even more districts and families across the country, and continue to lead the industry in innovation,” said Dr. Hien Nguyen, who founded Edulog in 1977.

In addition to expanding Edulog’s presence, the investment will support new developments in its cloud-native platform, Athena. “We’ve always been driven by innovation, and this partnership gives us greater capacity to strengthen the tools that districts rely on to manage student transportation,” said Sam Bull, CEO of Edulog. Athena’s roadmap includes enhancements in Edulog’s unrivaled optimization suite (which already includes depot, stop, special needs, run, route, and bell time optimization), as well as its user dashboards, parent engagement tools, and driver tools.

As part of the investment, vertical SaaS executive Perry Turbes will join Edulog’s Board of Directors as Executive Chair through Serent’s Operating Executive Director (OED) program. The OED program pairs experienced former CEOs with portfolio companies to provide strategic guidance and hands-on support. Turbes brings deep operational expertise and will work closely with the Edulog team to help scale the business and advance its mission.

“Edulog has already made a meaningful impact in K-12 transportation,” said Dexter Hopen, Partner at Serent Capital. “We are committed to providing resources that will support their continued growth and success.”

The addition of Edulog marks Serent Capital’s twelfth investment in the education market, reflecting a strong track record of founder-led partnerships. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

About Edulog: Edulog is a pioneer and market leader in K-12 student transportation technology. Since 1977, Edulog has helped thousands of school districts transport students safely, efficiently, and intelligently. The company’s Athena platform is a modern, cloud-based solution that includes routing optimization, GPS tracking, parent and driver portals, and advanced analytics. Edulog’s mission is to put money back in the classroom by optimizing transportation, reducing costs, and improving student experiences. Learn more at www.edulog.com.

About Serent Capital: Serent Capital is a growth-focused private equity firm investing in capital-efficient B2B SaaS and technology companies. Since its inception, Serent has taken a distinctly different approach, prioritizing founders and their companies and delivering true hands-on partnership through its in-house Growth Team of more than 25 professionals.

By partnering with Serent, founders gain access to strategic and operational resources aimed to accelerate growth, including revenue generation support, executive hiring, transformative M&A guidance, and a curated network of more than 400 founders and operating executives. With $5.9 billion in assets under management, Serent has partnered with more than 70 founder-led, industry-changing companies, helping them scale with speed, efficiency, and confidence. Discover more at www.serentcapital.com.

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Software company Edulog is using an infusion of private equity funding to expand its presence in the K-12 student transportation routing market and support new developments with its Athena cloud-native platform, while also streamlining company operations.

The family-run company founded in 1977 and based in Missoula, Montana announced Tuesday it is partnering with private equity firm Serent Capital. Details of the deal were not disclosed.

“Our mission is to help school districts make the most of their resources. With Serent’s backing, we can broaden our reach to even more districts and families across the country, and continue to lead the industry in innovation,” commented Edulog founder Dr. Hien Nguyen.

Company spokeswoman Lam Nguyen-Bull explained to School Transportation News the strategic growth investment will allow Edulog to work with a wider range of clients than in recent years, which is expected to make Athena more accessible and intuitive to school districts, regardless if they contract for a part-time route or a employ team of on-staff routers.

Athena is a modular, configurable, cloud-based routing platform designed for school districts of all sizes. Edulog said it integrates with student information systems to pull and populate transportation routers and eligibility with customizable maps, select and assign stops to runs and communicate with parents via a portal.

The Athena software roadmap includes enhancements in what CEO Sam Bull referred to in a statement as Edulog’s “unrivaled optimization suite.” It already includes depot, stop, special needs, run, route and bell time optimization, he noted.

Nguyen-Bull added that it also provides more intuitive dashboards, deeper reporting and a better ability to track ROI through cost savings, route efficiency and route utilization.

“We’re also building AI-driven features to layer on top of our unique industry leading mathematical algorithmic optimization to support proactive planning and faster decision-making,” she said. “In addition, we’re expanding our modules by enhancing tools like our parent and driver portals and exploring new capabilities like field trip management, fleet maintenance and dismissal workflows that can simplify operations even further.”

Part of the deal includes adding Perry Turbes, Serent’s senior operating executive, to Edulog’s board of directors as executive chair. He will oversee Serent’s Operating Executive Director program, which pairs experienced former CEOs with portfolio companies to provide strategic guidance and hands-on support.

Meanwhile, it’s business as usual for Edulog customers but with increased support, Nguyen-Bull added.

“The teams and faces our customers know aren’t going anywhere. What is changing is the level of investment in the things that matter most: Faster enhancements, more personalized service and a clearer voice for customers in the future of our platform,” she said.

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