Knewton
Knewton is an adaptive learning technology provider operating as a Wiley subsidiary, offering Knewton Alta courseware that personalizes instruction across seven STEM and social science subjects for higher education students and instructors.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2008
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Knewton does
Knewton is an adaptive learning technology provider founded in 2008 by Jose Ferreira and currently operating as a subsidiary and brand of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (Wiley). The company's flagship product, Knewton Alta, is adaptive courseware that continuously diagnoses and adapts to each student's proficiency level with every interaction, delivering personalized instruction, detailed answer explanations, and dynamic remediation that reaches back to prerequisite concepts. The platform covers seven subject areas — Biology, Chemistry, Economics, Mathematics, Physics, Psychology, and Statistics — and targets higher education students and instructors in college and university settings. Knewton is headquartered in New York with 101–250 employees and is recognized as one of three major players in the adaptive learning market alongside Pearson Education and McGraw-Hill Education.
The underlying platform combines a recommendation-style adaptive engine with content organized by learning objectives, integrating instructional text, video, examples, and assessments served at the precise moment a student needs support. The system integrates with institutional Learning Management Systems, supports WCAG 2.2 A/AA accessibility compliance, and exposes instructor dashboards for monitoring student mastery. Distribution runs through a hybrid model: enterprise sales via Wiley's global academic publishing channel, direct self-serve registration at knewton.com with Google OAuth, and LMS-embedded deployment inside existing institutional technology stacks.
Knewton generates revenue primarily through consumer-priced courseware subscriptions at $49.95 per semester or $14.95 per month per student, with institutional licensing layered through Wiley's enterprise motion. Prior to Wiley's 2019 acquisition, the company raised approximately $182 million across nine venture rounds from 2008 to 2018, with investors including Accel, Atomico, Bessemer Venture Partners, FirstMark, First Round Capital, Founders Fund, Sofina, TriplePoint Capital, and Pearson. The product was previously associated with a completed acquisition by McGraw-Hill Education prior to the Wiley transaction.
Knewton firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Knewton
- Legal name
- John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
- Website
- https://knewton.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2008
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Knewton is an adaptive learning technology provider operating as a Wiley subsidiary, offering Knewton Alta courseware that personalizes instruction across seven STEM and social science subjects for higher education students and instructors.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Knewton industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Adaptive Learning Software
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (5132), Educational Support Services (61171)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Adaptive/Personalized Curriculum & Intelligent Courseware (EDAFACAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Institutional & Program Analytics (Enrollment, Retention, Outcomes) (EDAFAFAK), Digital Learning & Course Subscriptions (CRAFAIAD)
Keywords
Where Knewton is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Knewton business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Courseware Subscription: Knewton Alta generates revenue through courseware subscriptions priced at $49.95 per semester or $14.95 per month. The subscription model provides students access to adaptive course materials across multiple subject areas including Biology, Chemistry, Economics, Mathematics, Physics, Psychology, and Statistics.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Semester subscription at $49.95 |
| Subscription | Monthly | Monthly subscription at $14.95 |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels3 records
Knewton product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Knewton sells Knewton Alta, a subscription-based adaptive courseware platform that continuously diagnoses and adapts to each student's proficiency level with every interaction. The platform provides detailed answer explanations, integrated just-in-time instruction, and dynamic remediation of prerequisite skill gaps across Biology, Chemistry, Economics, Mathematics, Physics, Psychology, and Statistics. It is sold to higher education students and instructors both directly through knewton.com self-serve and through institutional licensing via Wiley's enterprise channels.
Product overview
Knewton operates as a single-product adaptive learning platform now owned by Wiley (acquired by McGraw-Hill Education earlier, then transitioned to Wiley). The flagship product Knewton Alta is adaptive courseware that personalizes instruction for students across multiple subject areas including Biology, Chemistry, Economics, Mathematics, Physics, Psychology, and Statistics. The platform uses adaptive technology to continuously diagnose student proficiency, provide detailed answer explanations, deliver integrated just-in-time instruction, and dynamically remediate prerequisite knowledge gaps based on real-time performance data.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Knewton Alta: Adaptive courseware that provides students with personalized learning support, detailed answer explanations, integrated just-in-time instruction, and remediation of prerequisite skill gaps based on student performance. Available for Biology, Chemistry, Economics, Mathematics, Physics, Psychology, and Statistics courses.
Products and services
- Knewton Alta
Quantifiable outcome
- Students receive personalized learning that adapts to their proficiency level with each interaction
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Knewton
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Knewton technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
AI capability2 records
Feature5 records
Knewton partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered major and flagship.
- McGraw-Hill Education (Historical - Acquired)majorMcGraw-Hill Education previously acquired Knewton as part of its strategy to enhance adaptive learning capabilities. The acquisition was part of a broader trend of EdTech consolidation as major publishers sought to integrate AI-driven personalized learning technologies.
- Wiley (Parent Company)flagshipKnewton is now part of Wiley's educational technology portfolio, operating as Knewton Alta. Wiley distributes Knewton Alta through its academic publishing channels and Teach & Learn platform, combining Knewton's adaptive learning technology with Wiley's content and institutional relationships.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Knewton competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Khan Academy / Khanmigo: Khan Academy's Khanmigo is an AI-powered adaptive tutor directly comparable to Knewton Alta, serving higher-ed and general learners with personalized instruction. Both were evaluated together in adaptive learning assessments, competing for the same student base.
- CENTURY Tech: CENTURY Tech is an AI-driven adaptive learning platform evaluated alongside Knewton Alta in Gulf-AI assessments. It targets schools and higher-ed with personalized pathways and analytics directly comparable to Knewton's continuous-diagnosis model.
- Carnegie Learning (MATHia): MATHia by Carnegie Learning is an adaptive math tutoring platform evaluated alongside Knewton Alta. It directly overlaps Knewton's mathematics course with an AI-coach delivery model focused on mastery-based learning.
- Squirrel AI: Squirrel AI is a major adaptive learning provider evaluated alongside Knewton Alta. It uses AI to diagnose student knowledge states and deliver personalized instruction across multiple subjects, directly mirroring Knewton's adaptive engine.
- Area9 Lyceum: Area9 Lyceum provides adaptive learning platforms with continuous competency-based progression in higher-ed and professional education. It is a direct competitor to Knewton's proficiency-diagnosis and remediation model.
Broad incumbents
- Pearson Education: Pearson is named alongside Knewton as one of the three major players in the adaptive learning market. It operates a much broader portfolio of educational content and assessments, with adaptive capabilities that overlap with Knewton Alta's courseware positioning.
- McGraw-Hill Education: McGraw-Hill previously acquired Knewton and remains a major adaptive learning market peer. It offers competing adaptive courseware across higher-ed subjects with deeper content libraries and publisher scale.
- Cengage Group: Cengage is a major higher-ed publisher with adaptive learning capabilities across multiple disciplines. It competes with Knewton in the broader publisher courseware market and bundles adaptive tools into institutional offerings.
Emerging players
- Querium: Querium offers AI-driven adaptive tutoring and assessment in STEM subjects, evaluated alongside Knewton Alta. It focuses on step-by-step tutoring with personalized feedback, overlapping Knewton's detailed answer explanations.
- Cognii: Cognii is an AI-based educational assessment and tutoring provider serving higher-ed institutions. It overlaps with Knewton Alta in providing personalized, conversational learning feedback to students.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Knewton social profiles
Digital presenceKnewton compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Knewton financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Knewton leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Knewton funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds9 records
Investors16 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Knewton 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 Knewton
What does Knewton do?
Knewton sells Knewton Alta, a subscription-based adaptive courseware platform that continuously diagnoses and adapts to each student's proficiency level with every interaction. The platform provides detailed answer explanations, integrated just-in-time instruction, and dynamic remediation of prerequisite skill gaps across Biology, Chemistry, Economics, Mathematics, Physics, Psychology, and Statistics. It is sold to higher education students and instructors both directly through knewton.com self-serve and through institutional licensing via Wiley's enterprise channels.
Is Knewton a public or private company?
Knewton is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Knewton founded?
Knewton was founded in 2008. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Knewton based?
Knewton is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Knewton make money?
One revenue line is on record: courseware Subscription.
Who are Knewton's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Khan Academy / Khanmigo, CENTURY Tech, Carnegie Learning (MATHia), Squirrel AI and Area9 Lyceum. Broad incumbents are Pearson Education, McGraw-Hill Education and Cengage Group. Emerging players are Querium and Cognii.
Does Knewton have an API?
No public API is recorded for Knewton.
What industry is Knewton in?
Knewton's product category is Adaptive Learning Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAFACAE, Adaptive/Personalized Curriculum & Intelligent Courseware, with a secondary code of EDAFAFAK, Institutional & Program Analytics (Enrollment, Retention, Outcomes). Its NAICS code is 5132 and its SIC code is 7372.