Intel has reportedly acquired the digital education startup Kno in an attempt to expand its business in creating a digital environment for classrooms. Kno is an education startup company that started out in the hardware market then transformed into the software by creating apps that would allow students to read the interactive versions of already existing digitized textbooks.
Intel, the largest semiconductor chip maker in the world, is acquiring an education company such as Kno for several reasons. First one is the fact that Intel Capital was among the laundry list investors of Kno. The former had been able to raise some $73.4 million in funding from the day it was founded in 2009. Eventually, they led their Series C round in 2011 considering the fact that in the $37.5 million round, the company’s investment amounted to $20 million.
In its official site, Intel has published the meaty details of its acquisition. Its latest venture in Kno will boost the company’s global digital content library to reach titles by more than 225,000 in the higher education and K-12 series through its already existing partnerships with 75 established educational publishers.
Moreover, the Kno platform is designed to cater to administrators and teachers, providing them with the necessary tools that would enable them to easily assign, manage, and monitor their digitized learning content and assessments. With their partnership, they can help teachers create innovative classroom environments and personalized learning encounters that would lead to every student’s success.
According to news reports, while the deal pricing is still undisclosed, it is somehow confirmed that the Kno team will be joining Intel after the acquisition. One exception however is co-founder and CEO Osman Rashid. It’s still unclear at this point what his plans are when he finally makes an exit.
Unknown to many, Intel actually has an education business. The company has decided to focus on international growth as opposed to Rashid’s push to continue focusing on the North American side. This move by Intel is quite timely in the sense that it is building education tablets and plans to take on Google and Apple in the classroom.
