Online educational company Knewton has closed a USD6m Series B round of funding, led by Bessemer Venture Partners alongside returning investors Accel Partners and First Round Capital.
Online educational company Knewton has closed a USD6m Series B round of funding, led by Bessemer Venture Partners alongside returning investors Accel Partners and First Round Capital.
Angel investors include LinkedIn founder and chief executive Reid Hoffman and Datek co-founder and chief technology officer Peter Stern.
Knewton says the new financing will accelerate expansion to meet the surging enterprise demand for its adaptive learning engine and rapid consumer growth in its online test prep services. The new round will fund further development of Knewton’s open platform-designed to bring adaptive testing, adaptive learning, and concept-level reporting to any third-party educational content.
‘Knewton is one of the most interesting, and potentially revolutionary, educational technologies we’ve encountered,’ says Rob Stavis, a partner at Bessemer and a three-time member of the Forbes Midas List. ‘We are excited to help Knewton cement its position as the leader in adaptive learning and online test prep.’
Simon Levene from Accel Partners says: ‘Since we invested a year ago, Knewton’s growth and achievements have been remarkable. It’s a testament to the exceptional team, disruptive business model, and strong execution. Students and educators have already found great value in the service, and we’re pleased to help deliver it to an even wider audience.’
Knewton recently unveiled LSAT and GMAT preparation courses powered by the company’s proprietary adaptive learning engine. The algorithms behind Knewton’s platform identify the strengths and weaknesses of each student’s skills at the concept level, then customize content to match his or her precise knowledge gaps and learning style.
Knewton’s direct-to-consumer test prep classes are taught by ‘Master Teachers’ in an online video classroom and then archived for on-demand review. Live office hours provide students further time with instructors.
‘Educational content is just beginning a massive, one-time shift to digital distribution, just as news, music, and video have already experienced,’ says Jose Ferreira, chief executive of Knewton. ‘We think Knewton will emerge as the platform that powers this new era of online education; more importantly, customers and investors seem to think so as well.’
