Knewton

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.

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

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

• Adaptive learning software
• Personalized education
• Adaptive courseware
• Education technology platform
• Learning management integration

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. 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

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core 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

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability2 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered major and flagship.

• McGraw-Hill Education (Historical - Acquired)majorOthersMcGraw-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)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerKnewton 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

Direct 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

• Xx.com/Knewton
• Facebookfacebook.com/Knewton
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/knewton

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds9 records

Investors16 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Knewton