Perlego, a London-based online textbook subscription platform, has recently raised $50 million (£38.2 million) in a Series B funding round to expand its business globally.
The round was led by Mediahuis Ventures (the venture capital arm of European media group Mediahuis), with participation from Raine Ventures (the VC arm of Raine Group), and Evli Growth Partners. Strategic publishers, as well as angel investors such as learning platform Kahoot’s founders Jamie Brooker and Johan Brand also participated in the round through their We Are Human fund.
Perlego plans to use the fresh funds to accelerate its growth globally and attract more users, especially in the US, which currently accounts for 40% of its customer base.
Founded by Gauthier Van Malderen and Matthew Davis in 2017, Perlego provides unlimited access to content and study tools by aggregating global publishers in an all-you-can-read subscription model. It currently offers over 800,000 educational titles in six languages from over 5,000 of the world’s top education publishers, including Cengage, Routledge, Cambridge University Press, Elsevier, and Harvard University Press. The platform is used by over 400,000 users from over 6,000 institutions across 172 countries.
Speaking about the platform and how the latest investment will help the company, Gauthier Van Malderen, CEO of Perlego, said:
“We built Perlego to help make learning more accessible and affordable for all. We’re meeting learners where they are, online, while helping the publishing industry move to digital in a way that works for them. This investment will help us bring our platform to more people and give them important additional learning tools. With deep experience in helping technology companies grow, we’re thrilled to be working with the Raine Group and Evli, and to continue our partnership with Mediahuis Ventures.”
Perlego claims to witness 450% subscriber growth and its library of textbooks by 166% in 2021, making it the largest online textbook subscription service in the world.
Paul Verwilt, Chief Operating Officer at Mediahuis, said,
“Perlego is changing the equation for university students, helping them access course resources, while also enabling publishers to move online and harness new revenue opportunities. We’ve watched the company soar since our first investment, and are excited to double down on our commitment to the company in their Series B. Making independent information accessible to society is at the heart of what we do. Mediahuis is pleased to extend its mission further into higher education.”
Arma Partners acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Perlego on this $50 million Series B financing.
