Renaissance Learning, an education technology start-up, said on Wednesday that Google Inc.'s investment fund had bought a minority stake in the company, valuing it at $1 billion.

Renaissance, owned by British private equity firm Permira, provides cloud-based education software, including reading and assessment tools that the company says are used by nearly 20 million students and teachers.

Google Capital was formed in 2013 to invest in technology start-ups. Its investments include SurveyMonkey, an online survey company, and Lending Club, a service that matches people seeking loans with people willing to make them.

The Renaissance investment is Google's first in education.

New York Times said on Wednesday Google's investment was $40 million.