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Former Tesco chief invests in ‘spotify for textbooks’ platform perlego with $20m funding round

October 7, 2024

Perlego, an education technology platform known as the “Spotify for textbooks,” has secured a $20m fundraising round led by Sir Terry Leahy, the former CEO of Tesco.

The digital library service, which offers unlimited access to academic titles via subscription, is expected to announce the capital injection this week.

The new funding round also includes investment from ITHAKA, the organisation behind JSTOR, a prominent digital library for academic journals and books. Perlego’s growing list of shareholders already includes notable names such as Mediahuis, the Belgian publisher that recently bid for The Daily Telegraph, and KPN Ventures.

Founded in 2017, Perlego partners with thousands of international publishers and provides access to academic, professional, and non-fiction content from publishers like Cambridge University Press, Elsevier, and Harvard University Press. The platform’s catalogue is available in six languages and is used by over 250 educational institutions worldwide.

Sir Terry Leahy, who has made a number of technology investments since stepping down from Tesco over a decade ago, expressed enthusiasm for Perlego’s innovative approach to education. “Perlego is addressing one of the most pressing challenges in modern education—access to essential learning materials,” Leahy said. “This investment is a vote of confidence in Perlego’s potential to reshape the educational landscape.”

The new funding will be used to expand Perlego’s international footprint and to enhance its offerings by incorporating artificial intelligence. One key development will be Dialogo, an AI-powered research assistant aimed at improving access to academic content.

Gauthier Van Malderen, Perlego’s founder and CEO, commented on the impact of the investment, saying: “This investment represents a vital opportunity to drive meaningful change in education and AI more broadly. We’re passionate about providing accessible yet game-changing solutions to education.”

The platform’s mission to democratise access to academic resources has garnered attention from major industry players, and the recent funding will further bolster its efforts to advance educational technology on a global scale.