SimpleStudy, a Cork-based EdTech company backed by two Intercom co-founders, is looking into entering the Brazilian market as it moves forward to a funding round worth up to $6 million.
SimpleStudy was founded in 2020 by Oisin Devoy and Philip McKenna. It focuses on exam preparation and aims to become the equivalent of the language learning app Duolingo but for exam students. It raised euro 750,000 in a pre-seed funding round earlier this year that attracted Intercom’s Des Traynor and Ciaran Lee. The company offers notes, essays, questions, and quizzes for over 37 subjects, including Maths, English, Irish, Biology, Physics, French, Chemistry, History, Geography, Economics, Music, and Business. It helps students get better results without the stress.
Speaking about the latest development, SimpleStudy co-founder Oisin Devoy said in a statement:
The firm was gearing up for international growth after launching a product in the UK a few months ago. It is also close to launching in France and is considering a move into the Brazilian market. However, to achieve some of its expansion goals, it will need to tap the financial markets again so that it may go straight to a Series-A funding round in January or February.
Devoy added:
Going to Brazil without serious funding will be difficult. We want to prove demand in those markets and that people will pay us. Then our plan is to raise a real round with European or market investors, do $5 million or $6 million, and use that to really build out.
He stated:
The plan is to launch a market experiment in Brazil to prepare for their exam season in November and December next year. There are only five million people in Ireland who sit exams a year.
Earlier this year, Devoy said “Intercom’s Traymor and Lee’s investment helped give the company self-belief and signalled to others that their product is investable and “doing something interesting.”
Intercom became Ireland’s first venture capital-backed ‘unicorn’ when it was valued at more than euro 1 billion in 2018. Its main business is providing companies with digital customer messaging tools.
