Koofers Attracts $5 Million in Venture Funding with New Support from
Revolution and QED Investors
RESTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In its pursuit to help college students study smarter, Koofers,
Inc. today announced that it has raised $5 million in Series A
equity funding. This round includes Revolution
LLC, created by AOL co-founder Steve Case, and QED
Investors, started by Nigel Morris, and its existing investors, New
Atlantic Ventures and Altos
Ventures, which previously provided seed funding in 2008. The new
capital will be used to scale the company?s presence by expanding
product development and customer adoption while adding even more content
to enhance the user experience.
?By connecting students with their peers in similar classes, we are
building the academic extension of the social graph ? we like to call it
the Academic Graph?
Koofers, Inc. is a social learning company that empowers students to
help each other learn by providing open and free access to: course
materials, class and professor ratings, study aids and more.
Today, Koofers has aggregated data from more than 400 universities and
leveraged the power of social networks like Facebook to attract more
than 310,000 college students who use the service to prepare for class,
study more efficiently and save money. By using social media and the
?social graph? ? a map of people and how they're related on the web ?
Koofers can create a rich learning opportunity for college students by
connecting them to relevant educational content and to one another.
?Koofers is driving the reinvention of our university system,? said John
Backus, founder and managing partner, New Atlantic Ventures.
?Traditionally, academic education has been top-down, with the wise
teacher imparting knowledge, one way, to the blank-slate mind of the
student. Social media on the web destroys this hierarchy and creates a
level playing field for knowledge around the world, where students and
professors learn from and teach each other.?
Koofers provides:
-
Free
Academic Course Materials: Much like preparing for the
SAT, Koofers lets students study for exams by practicing with previous
ones. Notes, study guides and other resources can be accessed, just
like using the local library.
-
Public
Course and Professor Ratings: Based on reviews,
students can find the right classes, professors and teaching styles
that fit them.
-
Historical
Grade Distribution: Koofers makes millions of grading
histories available by department, course and professor, at no cost.
-
Digital
Flashcards: Koofers allows students to study on-the-go on
their phone (through a free iPhone app), or simply at their computer
by creating their own digital flashcards, or borrowing from the shared
repository, which includes "Wikipedia Suggests."
-
Textbook
Price Comparison: Koofers compiles a list of textbooks,
based on course schedules or search terms, and shows students purchase
and rental prices from the top online retailers. This means students
never overpay for required reading material.
-
Class
Schedule Maker: Students can create the perfect
schedule by using Koofers to find the right classes, times and
professors, without spending a cent.
"By connecting students with their peers in similar classes, we are
building the academic extension of the social graph ? we like to call it
the Academic Graph,? said Gio
Hunt, CEO, Koofers. ?We appreciate that our investors share our
vision to give students entirely new ways to collaborate with one
another, master course material and advance their college careers.?
About Koofers
Koofers, Inc. is a social learning company transforming higher education
through student-driven, intercollegiate collaboration. Founded in 2008,
Koofers is headquartered in Reston, VA and funded by Altos Ventures, New
Atlantic Ventures, QED Investors and Revolution. For more information,
go to: Koofers,
Facebook,
and Twitter.
Maggie Hatfield
Koofers
703.889.5347
maggie@koofers.comor
Meghan
Roman
Stonerose for Koofers
415.260.1857
meghan@stoneroseadvisors.com
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