What Visible Body does

Visible Body is a Newton, Massachusetts-based education technology company founded in 2011 by Andrew Bowditch (CEO) and Matthew Bowditch (CFO) that builds interactive 3D anatomy, physiology, and biology visualization software for life sciences instruction. The core product is Visible Body Suite, a web and mobile application containing over 6,000 interactive anatomical structures, hundreds of animations, virtual dissection capabilities, and augmented reality features, supported by a content library of 24,000+ visual assets available in 7 languages. The company also operates Visible Body Courseware, a teaching platform that wraps Suite assets into LMS-integrated assignments, quizzes, and premade courses for instructors, with full LTI 1.3 integration to Canvas, Blackboard, D2L Brightspace, Moodle, and Schoology.

The business operates a multi-tier subscription model comprising individual per-user subscriptions, institutional and group licenses for academic institutions, and post-January 2025 enterprise licensing through Cengage Group following the acquisition that brought the company into a major higher education and K-12 publisher's portfolio. Go-to-market combines product-led acquisition (free instructor trials, freemium mobile app), inside sales with a customer engagement team that supports onboarding, conference presence (65 events across 25 states and 3 countries in 2024), and channel distribution through LMS partnerships and the new Cengage textbook bundling channel. Customer base spans 1,000+ institutions and 1M+ users in 98 countries, with 70,000 paid VB Suite subscribers and 100,000+ Courseware students reported in 2024.

The company's competitive positioning rests on a proprietary 3D content library produced by credentialed medical artists, deep LMS interoperability, and a growing premade curriculum footprint correlated to 28+ textbooks. Visible Body was acquired by Cengage Group on January 13, 2025; the founders remain with the business, which continues to operate as a division. The company is pursuing AI-powered features on its 2025 roadmap and has begun expanding from anatomy/physiology into biochemistry content.

Name

Visible Body

Legal name

Visible Body Apps, LLC

Website

https://visiblebody.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Anatomy Education Software

akta.pro primary industry

Creator Tools & Content Pipelines for Immersive Learning (VR lesson builders, 3D asset workflows) (EDAFAJAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Immersive/Interactive Animation (AR/VR/Real-Time) (MPAHACAN)

Keywords

• 3D anatomy software
• Anatomy education platform
• Interactive physiology visualization
• Virtual dissection tools
• Medical education technology

Headquarters

HQ city

Newton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Individual Subscriptions: Per-user subscription model for students, instructors, and professionals accessing VB Suite directly through web or mobile applications.
2. Institutional/Group Subscriptions: Group subscription model for academic institutions providing site-wide or departmental access to Visible Body Suite and Courseware for multiple users.
3. Enterprise Licensing through Cengage: Integration of Visible Body's 3D models into Cengage's textbook products and broader portfolio, potentially including bundling with Cengage Unlimited.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Visible Body develops and sells interactive 3D anatomy, physiology, and biology visualization software for life sciences education. Its products include Visible Body Suite, a web and mobile platform featuring 6,000+ interactive anatomical structures, virtual dissections, animations, and augmented reality; and Visible Body Courseware, an instructor platform with LMS-integrated assignments, gradebook sync, and premade curriculum content. Customers include universities, colleges, K-12 schools, healthcare professionals, and individual students.

Product overview

Visible Body is an interactive 3D anatomy, physiology, and biology education platform acquired by Cengage Group in January 2025. The product portfolio centers on Visible Body Suite (the core product with over 6,000 anatomical structures, 3D models, animations, AR, and virtual dissections for web and mobile) and Visible Body Courseware (a teaching platform that leverages Suite assets for assignments, quizzes, LMS integration, and course management). Supporting resources include Flashcard Decks, Tours, Lab Activities, Premade Courses, and Lesson Plans. The Human Anatomy Atlas mobile app provides a portable subset of core content. The platform serves over 1,000 institutions, 1 million+ users, and is available in 7 languages with over 24,000 visual assets.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Visible Body Suite (VB Suite): Comprehensive 3D exploration platform for life sciences with over 6,000 structures, animations, simulations, flashcards, and augmented reality features for web and mobile devices.
• Visible Body Courseware

Products and services

• Visible Body Suite A comprehensive 3D exploration platform for life sciences featuring over 6,000 interactive anatomical structures, models, animations, simulations, virtual dissections, flashcards, and augmented reality capabilities for students, instructors, and healthcare professionals on web and mobile devices.
• Visible Body Courseware A 3D visual science learning platform for instructors with fully immersive assignments, quizzes, LMS integration, gradebook tracking, course management, and 28+ premade textbook-correlated courses for teaching anatomy, physiology, and biology.
• Human Anatomy Atlas Mobile App A mobile application providing core anatomy content and a subset of VB Suite features in a portable format, with 67,000+ users across 98 countries, available on iOS and Android in 7 languages.

Quantifiable outcome

• 70,000 subscribers to VB Suite in 2024
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

AI capability5 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Cengage GroupflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 January 2025Cengage Group, a global edtech company, acquired Visible Body in January 2025 to strengthen its digital learning portfolio with interactive 3D anatomy visualization tools. Visible Body's models are being integrated with Cengage's Higher Ed Anatomy and Physiology textbook by Elizabeth Co with plans for broader science course integration in Higher Ed and K-12.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Complete Anatomy (3D4Medical): 3D anatomy platform owned by Elsevier serving medical students, healthcare educators, and professionals. Closest direct competitor with similar interactive 3D anatomy models, virtual dissections, and cross-platform delivery model.
• Anatomage: Provider of virtual dissection tables and 3D anatomy software widely used in medical schools and life sciences programs. Directly comparable to Visible Body in target market and 3D anatomy visualization product.
• BioDigital: Web-based 3D anatomy visualization platform serving medical education, healthcare, and pharmaceutical training. Comparable in delivering interactive 3D human anatomy content to institutions and professionals.
• Kenhub: Anatomy learning platform with visual content, quizzes, and articles serving medical, nursing, and allied health students. Overlaps with Visible Body in target audience and visual anatomy learning approach.
• Osmosis (Elsevier): Visual medical education platform with video content, animations, and spaced-repetition learning tools now owned by Elsevier. Comparable as a visual learning resource for medical and health science students.

Broad incumbents

• Pearson Education: Global education publisher with significant digital learning, assessment, and higher education content portfolio. Comparable as a broader incumbent now expanding into adaptive digital tools across sciences.
• McGraw-Hill Education: Major education publisher with digital platforms across K-12, higher education, and professional learning. Comparable as a strategic acquirer of digital learning assets and competitor to Cengage in textbook integration.
• Elsevier (RELX): Global academic publisher and parent of Complete Anatomy and Osmosis. Comparable as a strategic acquirer and direct competitor through its health education portfolio targeting similar institutions.
• Springer Nature: Academic and educational publisher with growing digital learning portfolio. Comparable as a major education publisher increasingly bundling digital tools with textbook offerings.

Emerging players

• Labster: Provider of virtual science lab simulations including anatomy and biology. Comparable as an emerging player in immersive science education targeting similar higher ed and K-12 audiences.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/visiblebody
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/VisibleBody
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/visible-body

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors2 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 Visible Body