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Revolutionary Digital Textbook and Learning Platform Aimed at Education Market Gears Up
For First Customer Product Ship
Santa Clara, CA – September 8, 2010 – Kno, Inc., a groundbreaking digital textbook and
dynamic learning platform for students, today announced it has secured $46 million in the
company’s latest round of Equity and Debt financing. Andreessen Horowitz, a leading
Silicon Valley venture capital firm, was the lead investor with Silicon Valley Bank and
TriplePoint Capital also participating. The company plans to use the new capital to
continue its product innovation and assist with the first shipment of product later this year.
“Kno is gearing up to launch the first digital device that we believe will fundamentally
improve the way students learn,” said Osman Rashid, CEO and Co-founder of Kno, Inc. “We
are thrilled by the support from Andreessen Horowitz, Silicon Valley Bank and TriplePoint
Capital to help us continue to deliver on our product roadmap and ultimately deliver on our
vision to bring innovative digital technology to the world of education.”
Kno, short for knowledge, is a ground breaking learning platform that blends a unique two-
panel, touch-screen tablet, digital textbooks, course materials, note-taking, web access,
educational applications, digital media, sharing and more into a powerful and engaging
educational experience not available on any other tablet or eReader on the market today.
“We are strong believers in the disruption of untapped markets and education is a prime
example of a sector in need of digital innovation,” said Marc Andreessen, Co-Founder of
Andreessen Horowitz and Kno Board Member. “Kno is poised to lead the market with its
digital textbook and learning platform and we are excited to be part of the revolution.”
“The Kno will propel education into the 21st century with an all-in-one device and learning
platform that gives students access to digital textbooks, course materials, email, video, the
web and more, and enhance their learning experience,” said Babur Habib, Chief Technology
Officer and Co-Founder of Kno, Inc. “We plan to use the infusion of capital to get the Kno
into the hands of students for beta testing this fall and ultimately for the first customer ship
later this year.”
According to the newly released “E-Textbooks in Higher Education” report from Simba
Information, a leading authority in market intelligence in the publishing industry, E-
textbooks are growing at an estimated compound annual growth rate of nearly 49%
through 2013, when they will account for more than 11% of textbook sales.
And, according to Forrester Research, tablet sales in the US will go from 3.5 million units in
2010 to 20.4 million units in 2015, a 42 percent compound annual growth rate. Starting in
2012, tablets will outsell netbooks, a device commonly used by many college students
today.
Press Contacts:
JSA Strategies
Jennifer Stephens Acree
Jennifer@jsastrategies.com
310-780-3331
Kathryn Kelly
kathrynkellypr@gmail.com
408-718-9043