Sketchy
Sketchy is a US subscription-based visual learning platform serving medical, PA, NP, pharmacy, nursing, and MCAT students with clinician-created visual lessons, a QBank, and AI-powered patient case simulations distributed direct-to-consumer and via institutional licensing.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersLos Angeles, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Sketchy does
Sketchy is a subscription-based visual learning platform serving healthcare-professional students in the United States. Founded in 2013 by medical students, the company encodes dense medical, pharmacy, nursing, physician-associate (PA), nurse-practitioner (NP), and MCAT content into memorable visual stories and symbols. The core technology stack combines a proprietary visual Lesson Library (1,000+ lessons and 480+ videos), an Interactive Symbol Explorer for clickable visual flashcards, a QBank of 10,800+ practice questions covering COMLEX/USMLE, PANCE, AANP/ANCC, MCAT, and EORs, and AI-powered Patient Case Simulations that enable chat-based encounters with virtual patients and attendings, including imaging and lab interpretation.
The business model is primarily direct-to-consumer auto-renewing subscriptions priced at $249.99–$649.99 across 6-, 12-, and 24-month terms, with a 7-day free trial, group discounts of 20%+ for cohorts of 10+ students, and an AAMC Fee Assistance Program discount. A secondary enterprise channel targets medical schools and faculty through institutional licensing and a separate "DDx for Institutions" freemium-to-paid product, with pricing dependent on student count, program, and duration. Go-to-market mixes product-led growth (self-serve web signup, iOS app) with community-led acquisition (student ambassador program, group-leader model) and broad social presence (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, TikTok).
In 2025, an affiliate of TCG Capital Management closed a majority-stake investment and the company was restructured so that Sketchy Group LLC became a wholly owned subsidiary of a newly created holding company, "Sketchy Parent." Named institutional users include Baylor, UT, Yale, and Touro College, and the company reports a cumulative user base of more than 500,000 students. Leadership includes co-founders Saud Siddiqui and Andrew Berg (Chief Content Officer) and President Andrew Sugerman.
Sketchy firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Sketchy
- Legal name
- Sketchy Group LLC
- Website
- https://sketchy.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Sketchy is a US subscription-based visual learning platform serving medical, PA, NP, pharmacy, nursing, and MCAT students with clinician-created visual lessons, a QBank, and AI-powered patient case simulations distributed direct-to-consumer and via institutional licensing.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Sketchy industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Medical Education Technology
- NAICS
- Educational Support Services (61171)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Special Education & Learning Differences Virtual Tutoring Platforms (EDANAGAJ)
Keywords
Where Sketchy is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Los Angeles
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Sketchy business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others
Revenue model
- Individual Student Subscriptions: Primary revenue stream from direct-to-consumer subscriptions. Students pay for access to medical, PA, NP, nursing, or MCAT programs. Auto-renewing plans with 6, 12, or 24-month terms. 7-day free trial converts to paid subscription. Group discounts (20%+) for 10+ student groups.
- Institutional Licensing: Bulk student discounts for schools and institutions. Pricing determined by number of students, program, and duration. Contact through [email protected].
- MCAT Fee Assistance Program: 50% discount on 12-month Sketchy MCAT Prep Essentials for AAMC Fee Assistance Program participants. Revenue at reduced price point.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Medical All Access - 6 months (Most affordable) |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Medical All Access - 12 months (Most popular) |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Medical All Access - 24 months (Best value) |
| Subscription | Monthly | Medical Cases only - 1 month |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Medical Cases only - 12 months |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | NP All Access - 6 months (Most affordable) |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | NP All Access - 12 months (Most popular) |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | NP All Access - 24 months (Best value) |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | NP Cases only - 3 months |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | NP Cases only - 6 months |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | NP Cases only - 12 months |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | PA Cases only - 12 months |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | MCAT Science Review - 3 months |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | MCAT Science Review - 6 months |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | MCAT Science Review - 12 months |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | MCAT Prep Essentials - 3 months (Most affordable) |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | MCAT Prep Essentials - 6 months (Most popular) |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | MCAT Prep Essentials - 12 months (Best value) |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | MCAT Prep Essentials 12-month with AAMC FAP (50% discount) |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels6 records
Sketchy product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Sketchy is a visual learning platform that delivers subscription-based educational programs for medical, PA, NP, Pharmacy, Nursing, and MCAT students. The platform transforms dense medical concepts into memorable visual stories and symbols created by clinicians from top medical schools, and offers AI-powered patient case simulations for clinical reasoning practice. The company sells tiered subscriptions (6, 12, and 24 months) with add-on modules for clinical simulation and educator-facing case assignment.
Product overview
Sketchy is a visual learning platform offering subscription-based educational programs for medical, PA, NP, Pharmacy, and Nursing students, as well as MCAT test prep. The core offering consists of multiple program-specific subscriptions (Sketchy Medical, PA, NP, Pharmacy, Nursing, and MCAT) that share foundational features including a Lesson Library, QBank, Interactive Symbol Explorer, and End-of-Lesson Quizzes. Add-on modules include Sketchy Cases (AI-powered clinical simulations) and Sketchy DDx (clinical reasoning tool), which can be purchased as standalone subscriptions or integrated with main programs. The company offers tiered pricing with 6, 12, and 24-month subscription terms and a 7-day free trial for new users.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Sketchy Medical: Visual learning program for medical students covering preclinical and clinical coursework, including USMLE Step preparation
- Sketchy MCAT
- Sketchy PA
- Sketchy NP
- Sketchy Cases
- Sketchy DDx
- Cases by Sketchy
Products and services
- Sketchy Medical Subscription-based visual learning program for medical students covering preclinical coursework, USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 board exam preparation, shelf exams, and clinical reasoning skill-building. Includes Lesson Library, QBank, and Patient Case Simulations.
- Sketchy MCAT
Quantifiable outcome
- 96% of students who use Sketchy report higher exam scores
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use Sketchy
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Sketchy technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration7 records
AI capability4 records
Feature5 records
Sketchy partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators11 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Sketchy competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Pathoma: Pathoma is a foundational pathology video and textbook resource widely used by medical students for USMLE preparation. It competes with Sketchy Medical's pathophysiology content within the same medical school curriculum, often used as a complementary resource.
- Picmonic: Picmonic is the closest direct peer to Sketchy — both use visual storytelling/mnemonic imagery to teach complex medical and healthcare content to students preparing for professional licensing exams (USMLE, NCLEX, PANCE). Both target the same medical, PA, and nursing student segments with subscription models and emphasize retention over rote memorization.
- UWorld: UWorld is the dominant QBank and self-assessment provider for USMLE, COMLEX, PANCE, and other medical licensing exams, with thousands of practice questions. It directly competes with Sketchy's QBank feature and serves the same medical and PA student cohort preparing for the same board exams.
- AMBOSS: AMBOSS is a medical knowledge platform combining an exam-style QBank, clinical reference library, and study planning tools for medical students. It competes head-to-head with Sketchy Medical on QBank quality and clinical decision support, and offers an integrated alternative to Sketchy's separate lesson + QBank + Cases stack.
- Boards & Beyond: Boards & Beyond is a video-based medical education platform covering preclinical subjects for USMLE Step 1 prep, founded by Dr. Jason Ryan. It directly competes with Sketchy Medical's Lesson Library in serving medical students preparing for board exams through video content.
- Lecturio: Lecturio is a comprehensive medical education video platform with integrated QBank, concept pages, and learning paths covering USMLE and other medical exams. It competes with Sketchy across multiple programs (Medical, Nursing, MCAT) with a similar subscription-based all-in-one study model.
- Osmosis (Elsevier): Osmosis, now owned by Elsevier, is a visual medical education platform that originally competed most directly with Sketchy's video-based approach. It serves medical, nursing, and other health professional students with similar subscription plans and visual learning methodology.
- TrueLearn: TrueLearn provides adaptive QBank and learning analytics for medical students preparing for USMLE, COMLEX, and medical school shelf exams. It directly competes with Sketchy's QBank feature, particularly in the assessment and analytics layer.
Broad incumbents
- Kaplan (medical/test prep division): Kaplan is a broad incumbent test prep company offering MCAT, USMLE, and other healthcare licensing exam prep alongside its wider portfolio (LSAT, GRE, GMAT, etc.). Its MCAT prep directly competes with Sketchy MCAT, and its medical board prep overlaps with Sketchy Medical, though Kaplan's visual memorization methodology is less differentiated.
Emerging players
- Firecracker (now part of ScholarRx): Firecracker was a medical education spaced-repetition platform that operated in the same student market as Sketchy with an alternative memorization methodology. It has been absorbed into ScholarRx, but its prior offering competed directly with Sketchy's retention-focused visual learning approach for the same medical student cohort.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Sketchy social profiles
Digital presenceSketchy financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Sketchy leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Sketchy funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Sketchy M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Sketchy
What does Sketchy do?
Sketchy is a visual learning platform that delivers subscription-based educational programs for medical, PA, NP, Pharmacy, Nursing, and MCAT students. The platform transforms dense medical concepts into memorable visual stories and symbols created by clinicians from top medical schools, and offers AI-powered patient case simulations for clinical reasoning practice. The company sells tiered subscriptions (6, 12, and 24 months) with add-on modules for clinical simulation and educator-facing case assignment.
Is Sketchy a public or private company?
Sketchy is a private company. It is classified as private equity controlled and is currently operating.
When was Sketchy founded?
Sketchy was founded in 2013. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Sketchy based?
Sketchy is headquartered in Los Angeles, United States, in the North America region.
How does Sketchy make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Individual Student Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are institutional Licensing and MCAT Fee Assistance Program.
Who are Sketchy's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Pathoma, Picmonic, UWorld, AMBOSS, Boards & Beyond, Lecturio, Osmosis (Elsevier) and TrueLearn. Kaplan (medical/test prep division) is listed as a broad incumbent. Firecracker (now part of ScholarRx) is listed as an emerging player.
Does Sketchy have an API?
No public API is recorded for Sketchy.
What industry is Sketchy in?
Sketchy's product category is Medical Education Technology. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDANAGAJ, Special Education & Learning Differences Virtual Tutoring Platforms. Its NAICS code is 61171.