London-based startup Perlego raises £7 million
by Startacus Admin
Funding success will see this startup's development and expansion plans move forward
Great news from London-based startup, Perlego who have announced that they’ve closed their Series A fundraising round at a total of £7 million.The funding has been backed by Charlie Songhurst, Dedicated VC, Thomas Leysen (Chairman of Mediahuis and Umicore) as well as further financing from Perlego’s existing investors including ADV, Simon Franks and Alex Chesterman. Perlego’s core aim is to make education material accessible for all. It currently provides access to over 300,000 eBooks, from over 2,300 publishers, cross-device and in multiple languages and now includes content from key publishers in Germany, the Nordics and Italy.
However, Perlego’s success has not just been confined to the academic sector, with a significant number of professionals also using the platform, thereby indicating that it could have an impact on knowledge sharing well beyond the traditional education sphere.
The Perlego platform provides solutions to many of the issues that face the academic publishing sector. Textbook prices have increased at three times the rate of inflation since 1978 and UK students currently spend on average £400 per year on textbooks. Perlego on the other hand gives its users access to the entire digital library for £12 per month - a considerable saving.
Publishers clearly benefit since Perlego offers a distribution method that reclaims the revenue losses to piracy and the second-hand market, similar to what Spotify has done for the music industry. Perlego has seen a 116% increase in new subscribers month-on-month and with more and more established publishers moving towards the digital sector, it’s evident that the future is digital, thereby validating the startup’s mission statement and business model.Whilst the volume of academic materials being sold in physical form has declined since 2014, digital textbooks have seen an increase in their market share and that looks set to continue. Perlego therefore is ensuring that publisher revenues are protected while at the same time widening user access to educational materials.
Speaking on today’s investment news , Gauthier Van Malderen, co-founder and CEO at Perlego noted:
“Learning should be accessible for all, but unfortunately, the economics of the publishing industry means that this isn’t always possible. With Perlego, we can change this. Our platform widens access to educational materials at an affordable rate while concurrently driving profitability for the publishing sector. This means that more people will be able to enjoy the opportunities afforded to them by education.”
It is a sentiment echoed by Brent Hoberman, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman, Founders Factory: "With digital services like Perlego, the industry is one step closer to tackling the accessibility issue in education, and publishers can enhance their bottom line through textbook streaming.”
Here at Startacus HQ, we’re looking forward to seeing how this investment helps Perlego further develop its innovative platform. We love seeing one of our former startups of the week going from strength to strength!
Subscribe to our newsletter
If you would like to receive our startup themed newsletter, full of the latest startup opportunities, events, news, stories, tips and advice, then sign up here.
Coincover the leading crypto security startup secures major investment as it seeks to meet the growing demand from the cryptocurrency market
The London-based startup that's creating innovative solutions for retail businesses as they begin to reopen as the lockdown eases
The startup that is on a mission to empower cyclists everywhere by providing the world’s largest cycle route collection in its innovative app
Black Young Professional Network, aka BYP Network will hit and surpass their Seedrs £500k funding round target.
.jpeg)
Planning to hire an accountant for your startup? Here are a few of the things you should consider before you do just that...
Sustainable reward scheme Bagboard, a first-of-its-kind advertising platform for planet-friendly brands launches £600k funding round
The Manchester-based startup that's created an app to enable hospitality businesses to maintain social distancing while still taking customer orders quickly
The lowdown on Bubo AI, the Yorkshire-based startup that's using AI to create value-based pricing for wholesale and distribution businesses
The London-based startup that's disrupting the insurance industry by its collective-based model for cycling insurance
More than half of employees concerned about returning to work and majority of employees NOT comfortable using public transport
Published on: 19th November 2019
.png)
If you would like to enable commenting via your Startacus account, please enable Disqus functionality in your Account Settings.
- Coincover fuels growth with latest investment round 14th Jul 2020 Coincover the leading crypto security startup secures major investment as it seeks to meet the growing demand from the cryptocurrency market
- More than half of employees concerned about returning to work 2nd Jul 2020 More than half of employees concerned about returning to work and majority of employees NOT comfortable using public transport
- GCHQ Innovation Co-Lab seeks startups harnessing data science, machine learning and AI 2nd Jul 2020 The GCHQ Innovation Co-Lab is on the hunt for companies harnessing data science, machine learning and AI techniques to create real products and solutions.
- Ten Years On: 30% Club Sets New Targets 1st Jul 2020 New targets set by 30% Club aimed at achieving both gender diversity and fully inclusive cultures on FTSE Boards, Executive Committees and Chair Appointments
