Oxford-born Bibliu raises $15m to take low cost learning resources to USA and beyond

BibliU, the company delivering affordable and accessible course online books for universities, libraries and other higher education institutions BibliU, has raised the first tranche of $15M in a Series B funding, led by its current investors with participation from new investors. The funds are targeted for expansion in the US market, including new product development, additional publisher partnerships and further investments in sales and marketing.

Launched in 2015 at the University of Oxford’s Start-up Incubator, BibliU was created to address the problem faced by many students when paying for the increasingly expensive learning materials required for their courses. Due to the increasing costs of university textbooks, which have risen by four times the rate of inflation since 1977, many students have turned to second-hand, rented or even pirated copies to make ends meet. This has led to publishers increasing their prices in order to recover lost revenues, exacerbating the problem.

BibilU is used by 112 leading universities from Oxford, Cambridge to Cornell and Phoenix in the United States. The platform allows higher education institutions to license textbooks and courseware, primarily in digital format – for all students for a single, low, standardized pre student/per class fee, rather than having to set separate contracts with each publisher. Students can also access content on-demand through BibliU’s marketplace – the digital equivalent of a library – saving up to 50 percent in costs.

The funds invested will enable the company to continue its expansion across the UK and US, develop new products, secure additional publisher partnerships and invest further in sales and marketing, stimulating growth.

Investors include Bristol-registered Wealth Club. Alex Davies, CEO and Founder, Wealth Club said: “BibliU is a great example of a company solving long existing problems with modern day tools. It allows hundreds of thousands of students to access course materials at little or no costs, helping to improve the accessibility of education while also improving learning outcomes. This in turn has delivered great commercial success, with a proven product in a growing market and the pandemic has only accelerated demand.

Dave Sherwood, added: “We’re excited to announce our successful Series B, which will power our growth over the coming years. We are working with an outstanding group of investors. Wealth Club raised over £1 million to close off the final tranche of our series B under tricky market conditions in a very short six week timeframe. This [total] funding will enable BibliU to develop additional technology that further automates content management for publishers, streamline the complexities for institutions associated with managing learning content, and – most of all – support our clients’ goals to advance student success in an equitable manner.”

BibliU Board Chair, Mark Whitby, added: “BibliU’s global growth has been impressive – in particular the company’s expansion in the US market. Tranche 1 of Series B will enable the company to further fuel and accelerate this growth, whilst enabling institutions around the world to make content more accessible and affordable to their students.”

Nick Dixon-Clegg, Principal, Oxford Science Enterprises, said: “Oxford Science Enterprises is delighted to invest in BibliU’s Series B, having invested in and supported the company since 2017. We are impressed by the growth being delivered by simultaneously solving problems for students. , higher education institutions and publishers.”

Hugo Vaux, Fund Manager, Guinness Ventures, said: “BibliU has achieved impressive levels of growth and continues to welcome top institutions as new clients. This funding round puts BibliU in an even greater position to develop their proposition further and bring their Universal Learning solution to more institutions and students worldwide.”

Lisa Barclay, Executive Director of Investment, Nesta Impact Investments, the UK’s innovation agency for social good, said:”Through BibliU we have seen how tremendous commercial growth has come hand in hand with social impact as hundreds of thousands of university students gain access to their course materials at low or no cost. A study has shown that access to BibliU improves students’ learning outcomes. Nesta is excited to provide further investment to enable BibliU’s continued growth and impact, particularly in closing the gap between students from more disadvantaged backgrounds and their better-off peers.”

Richard Hill, Head of Direct Investments, Stonehage Fleming, added: “With success in both the UK and the US, as well as the support of an impressive group of investors, it comes as no surprise that the company has proven popular with our clients. who have interested £1.3 million into the business.

“Since our initial investment in 2020, BibliU has experienced tremendous growth – both in the UK market, where half of the nation’s higher education students now have access to content through the BibliU platform, and in the US market, where universities and colleges are replacing legacy bookstore models with BibliU’s digital-first solution for content.

“We’re excited to increase our investment in BibliU and by the growth opportunity BibliU has created. We also believe BibliU is delivering significant impact not only through substantially reducing the costs of textbooks and course materials, but also by increasing student engagement and improving learning outcomes for students. This is an important aspect for our investors.”

During its 2021 fiscal year, BibliU achieved 236 percent growth in recognized revenue. The company officially launched its Universal Learning solution, which aggregates digital content from thousands of publishers and OER (open educational resources) sources on one platform for one low price, per student, per class. Reception from the higher education market was positive, enabling BibliU to welcome new clients such as Wichita State University of Applied Sciences and Technology, Jackson College, and Dublin’s Trinity College to the platform.

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