Learning enablement platform BibliU has raised £12 million in Series B funding.
BibliU is a digital platform for textbooks and aims to address long-standing pain points in higher education which have a direct impact upon student access to materials.
The funds are targeted for expansion in the US market, including new product development, additional publisher partnerships and further investments in sales and marketing.
It claims 65% of students in the US admit to not buying their course content due to cost, while 70% of students in the UK have skipped buying textbooks and learning materials.
A study from BibliU also found that more than a third of students said they could not afford to buy textbooks.
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All the company’s Series A investors – Stonehage Fleming, Oxford Science Enterprises, Guinness Ventures and Nesta Impact Investments – participated in the round.
Richard Hill, head of direct Investments at Stonehage Fleming, joins the board of directors.
“Since our initial investment in 2020, BibliU has experienced tremendous growth – both in the UK market, where half of the nation’s higher education students now have access to content through the BibliU platform, and in the US market, where universities and colleges are replacing legacy bookstore models with BibliU’s digital-first solution for content,” said Hill.
“We’re excited to increase our investment in BibliU and by the growth opportunity BibliU has created. We also believe BibliU is delivering significant impact not only through substantially reducing the costs of textbooks and course materials, but also by increasing student engagement and improving learning outcomes for students.
“This is an important aspect for our investors.”
During its 2021 fiscal year, BibliU achieved 236% growth in revenue. The company officially launched its universal learning solution, which aggregates digital content from thousands of publishers and open educational resources sources on one platform for one price, per student, per class.
New clients include Wichita State University of Applied Sciences and Technology, Jackson College and Dublin’s Trinity College.
BibliU co-founder and CEO Dave Sherwood said, “We’re excited to announce our successful Series B, which will power our growth over the coming years. We are working with an outstanding group of investors.
“This funding will enable BibliU to develop additional technology that further automates content management for publishers, streamline the complexities for institutions associated with managing learning content, and – most of all – support our clients’ goals to advance student success in an equitable manner.”