CogBooks, a UK-based education technology business, has raised £1.25m from existing investors Nesta Impact Investments, DC Thomson and the Scottish Investment Bank, the investment arm of Scottish Enterprise. The investment will be used to accelerate expansion in the UK and US higher education markets.

CogBooks has demonstrated that by personalising learning to students’ individual needs, its advanced adaptive online learning technology can significantly improve attainment and student retention, with Arizona State University witnessing a 24 percent increase in student success and 90 percent reduction in dropout rates.

Jim Thompson, CEO of CogBooks, comments: "This investment allows us to accelerate the distribution of our courseware and platform in the UK and USA at a key stage in the market’s development.  The results of our deployments in higher education have been very positive and we are delighted that our products are making a real difference to both students and instructors."

Nathan Elstub, Chief Investment Officer at Nesta Investment Management, adds: "By providing high quality content in an accessible format that is customised to individual needs, CogBooks is delivering a transformational technology that has the potential to contribute to a deep change in way that we teach and learn, helping both students and teachers make the most of the resources available to them."  

Ben Gray, Head of Strategy and Development at DC Thomson, says: "CogBooks has made significant progress in developing product leadership in this sector, based on the impact evidence that its adaptive learning products are generating for clients. The business is perfectly placed to capitalise on the current rapid growth in this market.”

Kerry Sharp, Director of the Scottish Investment Bank, says “We are pleased to have further supported CogBooks as it embarks on its next phase of both domestic and international growth. CogBooks is a great example of an innovative Scottish company with global reach, with exciting technology that has the potential to drive change in the learning experience. We look forward to continuing to provide CogBooks with access to wider assistance from Scottish Enterprise to help deliver its goals.”

CogBooks is also winner of a multi-million dollar grant to support the development of next generation courseware funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

You can find out more about CogBooks at www.cogbooks.com

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Footnotes:

1.       https://www.cogbooks.com/2016/02/04/improve-student-success-and-retention-with-adaptive-courseware/

About Cogbooks: CogBooks has pioneered the use of adaptive learning since 2003 and is recognized as one of the leading adaptive learning technology companies in industry reports (e.g. Tyton Partners industry report ranking CogBooks most highly versus competing technologies).

Winning a multi-million dollar award as part of the Next Generation Courseware Challenge competition funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, recognises their contribution to  helping every student enjoy a unique and affordable learning experience based on solid research.

Leading publishers, universities and OER content providers use CogBooks to create powerful, adaptively personalized, learning experiences that have significant and measurable impact.

About Nesta Impact Investments: A £17.6 million social investment fund supported by Big Society Capital, Omidyar Network and Nesta. Launched in October 2012 NII helps tackle the major challenges faced by older people, children and communities in the UK by investing in life-changing innovations. The fund is run by Nesta Investment Management, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nesta, the UK’s innovation foundation. It is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority to manage and invest funds on behalf of Nesta and external investors. www. nestainvestments.org.uk

About DC Thomson: DC Thomson is a private company and one of the leading media organisations in the UK. It is headquartered in Dundee, Scotland. The company publishes newspapers, magazines and books and has diversified into new media, digital technology, retail, radio and television through investment interests.

About Scottish Enterprise: The Scottish Investment Bank (SIB) is the investment arm of Scotland’s main economic development agency, Scottish Enterprise, operating Scotland-wide in partnership with Highlands and Islands Enterprise. It manages a suite of co- investment funds including the Scottish Co-investment Fund and the Scottish Venture Fund, which are partly funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), Renewable Energy Investment Fundand the Scottish Recycling Fund. SIB is the cornerstone investor in the privately-managed Scottish Loan Fund, managed by Maven Capital Partners and an investor in Epidarex Capital’s life sciences fund. Our investment funds support Scotland’s SME funding market to ensure businesses with growth and export potential have adequate access to growth capital. We also provide a team of Financial Readiness specialists to help companies prepare for new investment and access appropriate finance.

For all media enquiries please contact Laura Scarrott in Nesta’s press office: [email protected] / 0207 438 2697