Nesta Impact Investments and DC Thomson Ventures, the venture capital arm of private media group DC Thomson, have made a significant investment in Edinburgh-based edtech company, CogBooks.

The investment forms part of a £1.75 million funding round by DC Thomson Ventures, Nesta Impact Investments and the Scottish Investment Bank, the investment arm of Scottish Enterprise.

For over ten years CogBooks has been pioneering the use of adaptive learning technology, with a real focus on personalised learning for students. Highly rated in reports commissioned by the Gates Foundation, CogBooks’ learning platform targets improved educational outcomes and student retention.

The platform is used by publishers and institutions in the US and UK post-secondary education market, including Edinburgh University, the OCR exam board and many others.

DC Thomson Head of Strategy and Development Ben Gray said:

“DC Thomson Ventures is looking forward to working with CogBooks as it builds on its position as a leading provider of adaptive learning solutions. We believe that true adaptive learning technologies have the potential to fundamentally change the way that education is delivered at all levels, creating positive outcomes for learners.”

Matt Mead from Nesta Impact Investments said:

“Educational technology has the potential to radically change education, especially in secondary schools where there are real opportunities to support learning in the classroom with online work. But that technology can’t be a one size fits all solution. We invested in CogBooks because of their unique approach to personalised web-based learning, which sees them put the student at the heart of their technology. By really understanding how young people learn and working with education providers to ensure content is relevant, CogBooks enables learners to get the most from their experience while also supporting teachers.”

Kerry Sharp, Head of the Scottish Investment Bank said:

“Having supported CogBooks through seed investment we are pleased to further support them as they enter this exciting stage in their development. CogBooks has already been recognised as a leader in adaptive learning technology and this new investment will help the company deliver its growth ambition and extend its international reach.” 

CogBooks CEO Jim Thompson added:

“Throughout the world, we face the problem of how to make the highest quality education available to everyone. We believe that a new generation of learning technologies, of which CogBooks is an example, can help to solve this problem. We are working with our partners to bring these new technologies to teachers and help them to transform the way that learning is achieved.

Our work with the Gates Foundation, Ufi Charitable Trust, the OCR, Edinburgh University and other leading schools and colleges will allow hundreds of thousands of students to benefit from advanced personalised on-line learning, delivered using the CogBooks adaptive platform.

This new investment will allow us to continue to expand our company and provide improved learning experiences for more and more students.”