KNEWTON LANDS BIG INVESTMENT DOLLARS: The adaptive learning platform, Knewton, is landing a $51 million round, led by London venture firm, Atomico, reports TechCrunch. GSV Capital is another new investor; existing investors supporting the round include Accel Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, First Round Capital, FirstMark Capital and Founders Fund, along with debt financing from Silicon Valley Bank. That puts Knewton's financing at $104 million and sets it on a path of international expansion. Expect to see more staff, a bigger headquarters and more partnerships with publishers on the horizon. (Knewton currently works with many US education publishers including Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Macmillan Education, Triumph Learning and Cambridge University Press.)
In a blog post, CEO Jose Ferreira said the company "had a couple of profitable months at the end of 2013, and expected to be profitable all of 2014." And even though "this new funding wasn’t strictly necessary, the idea of growing aggressively now was too appealing to pass up."
