Startup profile · funding coverage
Kno funding, valuation and investors
Digital textbook and study platform — acquired by Intel in 2013.
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Funding, valuation & investors
Answer-first snapshotLatest funding
Series C
$30M · April 2011
Latest known valuation
Not publicly disclosed
Total disclosed equity funding
$30M
Excludes debt, grants, acquisitions, secondaries, and IPO proceeds.
Current status
acquired
acquired · Santa Clara, California
Investors in latest funding
Other: Andreessen Horowitz , First Round Capital
Overview
Kno built digital textbooks and study tools for college students, initially on custom dual-screen tablet hardware before pivoting to a software-only platform when hardware proved too costly. The company raised a $30M Series C in April 2011 with First Round Capital, Floodgate, and Andreessen Horowitz participating. Intel acquired Kno's assets in November 2013 to bolster its education division.
Why Kno is interesting
Kno pitched dual-screen tablet textbooks before pivoting to software-only — Intel bought the content platform for its education division after $70M+ raised from a16z and First Round.
Product & use cases
Kno delivered interactive digital textbooks with highlighting, note-taking, and study tools for college students — first on proprietary tablets, then as cross-platform software.
- Digital textbook reading and annotation for college students
- Interactive study tools and assessments
- Publisher partnerships for digital content distribution
Key facts
- Series C (Apr 2011): $30M — EdSurge
- Exit (Nov 2013): Acquired by Intel
- Pivoted from dual-screen tablet hardware to software-only
Funding history (newest first)
Series C
2011-04 $30MSource: Read source · edsurge.com
Investors in our directory
Funds linked from Kno's profile — open a fund page for stage focus and related deal articles.
Competitive landscape
Edge: Early mover in digital textbooks with publisher partnerships — before Kindle and Apple dominated the category.
Digital textbooks took years to reach mainstream adoption. Kno's hardware pivot failure was costly; Intel acquisition valued software and publisher relationships over devices.
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Kindle Textbooks incumbent
Amazon's digital textbook platform.
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Chegg direct
Textbook rentals and study tools.
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Apple iBooks Textbooks incumbent
Apple's education content platform.
Notable stories
- Kno launched an ambitious dual-screen tablet for textbooks before abandoning hardware — the pivot to software-only came too late to avoid a modest Intel acquisition.
- Intel bought Kno in November 2013 to integrate digital content into its education division during the tablet-in-schools push.
Industries
Market / IPO context
Editorial / static context — not a live quote.
Related funding articles
Venture Capital Tracker pieces that cover Kno's financing or category context.
FAQs about Kno
Practical answers founders, operators, and investors typically search for.
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