Noon Academy, the Saudi-based online learning platform has successfully raised a $13M Pre-B funding round, led by STV. This news comes one year after they raised their Series A round in June 2019.
Noon Academy's previous funding insights:
Jun 2019 - $8.6M, Series A, Raed VC, STV, Alisamiah Investment, Saudi Venture Capital Company (SVC)
• Noon Academy's main differentiator lies in its functionality; their platform incorporates social and gamification features that enable users to have an enjoyable, collaborative learning experience with teachers and fellow students through study groups, peer engagement, and contests.
• Seven years after it was founded and thousands of data-driven experiments later, Noon Academy has transformed into a versatile, comprehensive online learning platform with over six million registered users.
• The next phase of growth will see the development of additional functionality that enables schools around the world to easily utilize the platform to address their specific needs. This is particularly relevant as students will continue to study from home for the foreseeable future.
Noon Academy’s Co-Founder and CEO Mohammed Aldhalaan said, “With this investment, we’re aiming to bring together 50 million students and tutors from around the world by 2023.”
Read the full press release below.
Noon Academy, the leading and fastest-growing global EdTech platform in MENA, announced today that it has raised $13 million in Pre-B funding. The round was led by STV, which previously co-led the company’s previous Series A round, with participation from additional investors Alturki Holding and Ahmed El Kalla’s NFX Ventures. Interest in the raise led to oversubscription; while the initial target was $5 million, the company closed a $13 million raise this week, signaling strong investor confidence and validation despite it being a challenging time for start-ups seeking financing.
The Saudi-based firm was founded in 2013 by Mohammed Aldhalaan and Dr. Abdulaziz Alsaeed as a simple test preparation website. Seven years and thousands of data-driven experiments later, Noon Academy has transformed into a versatile, comprehensive online learning platform with over six million registered users.
EdTech has largely been focused on serving education, but the next generation of EdTech companies are taking a student-centric approach. Noon Academy is one of the companies spearheading the efforts toward direct-to-student learning. Students are eager to learn if given the right tools and engaged effectively, and the 13x student growth Noon Academy has seen over the past year and the above-average engagement levels support that" said Ahmad Alshammari, Investment Principal at STV. "We are proud to work with a team that is enhancing and reimagining the learning experience."
The company’s main differentiator lies in its functionality; their platform incorporates social and gamification features that enable users to have an enjoyable, collaborative learning experience with teachers and fellow students through study groups, peer engagement, and contests. This has resulted in its social learning platform achieving 5 times the global industry average of a student’s daily engagement.
“Our fully interactive and fun platform has been built on the insight that the biggest obstacle to learning isn’t comprehension, but rather boredom” commented Mohammed Aldhalaan, Noon Academy’s co-founder and CEO “With this investment, we’re aiming to bring together 50 million students and tutors from around the world by 2023.”
The next phase of growth will see the development of additional functionality that enables schools around the world to easily utilize the platform to address their specific needs. This is particularly relevant as students will continue to study from home for the foreseeable future. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, the company has prioritized enhancing the platform to serve the rising demand from the public and the versatility they require. As a result, Noon Academy has added 3 million students since then, effectively double their user base. Having access to a robust platform that is capable of serving the needs of the public in the age of COVID-19 has proven to be all the more critical.
Noon Academy’s 119-strong in-house team is currently split across offices in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, India, and Pakistan. The investment will also support the opening of a new company hub in London, where Product, Design, and Data Science teams will be based.
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Saudi Arabia saw a record amount of startup funding and deals in 2019 and continues to grow as one of MENA's thriving startup ecosystems. Find out more details on how it is getting there in our new 2019 Saudi Arabia Venture Investment Report.