Brilliant (website) explained

Brilliant
Logo Alt:The logo of Brilliant
Founder:Sue Khim
Commercial:Yes
Type:Online education
Language:English
Num Users:4 million (2017)[1]
Current Status:Active

Brilliant.org is an American for-profit company and associated community that features 70+ guided courses[2] across the site. It operates via a freemium business model.[3]

Brilliant was founded in 2012. At the Launch Festival in March 2013, CEO and co-founder Sue Khim presented the idea of Brilliant, attracting funding from venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya.[4] In August 2013, TechCrunch reported that Brilliant.org had secured funding from Palihapitiya's Social+Capital Partnership, as well as from 500 Startups, Kapor Capital, Learn Capital, and Hyde Park Angels. The website boasted over 100,000 users at that time. By July 2017, the platform had accumulated more than 4 million registered users, and by April 2019, it had achieved a valuation of $50 million.

Originally, Brilliant hosted a variety of individual puzzles and occasionally monthly challenges. At one point, the individual puzzles included their Problem of the Week, a selection of the 15 best puzzles for the week.[5] Currently, all of their content is housed within the problem-solving-based courses. Only a few lessons in each subject are available outside of subscription to the website.

Reception

Several publications have noted Brilliant for its success in identifying gifted students. Commonly cited examples include Farrell Wu from the Philippines,[6] Dylan Toh of Singapore,[7] and Phoebe Cai of the United States.

Brilliant regularly contributes math and science puzzles to publications such as The New York Times, The Guardian, and FiveThirtyEight.[8] [9] [10] [11] Brilliant has also been cited by The Atlantic as a catalyst of the "math revolution" - a surge in the number of American teens excelling at math.[12]

In 2013, Brilliant co-founder and CEO Sue Khim was listed among the Forbes 30 under 30 for the Education category for her work on Brilliant.[13]

Two employees of Brilliant were among the victims of the 2019 MV Conception fire.[14]

Acquisition

In Dec 2022, Brilliant acquired Hellosaurus, a software and entertainment company that distributes interactive programming for kids from various children's creators like The Wiggles, Kids Diana, etc. CEO Sue Khim said the acquisition will help Brilliant accelerate its mission towards active learning.[15]

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Bellos. Alex. Can you solve it? Pi Day puzzles that will leave you pie-eyed. 27 July 2017. The Guardian.
  2. Web site: Courses Brilliant . 2024-07-27 . brilliant.org.
  3. Web site: Giving Brightest Kids The 'Cram School' Experience, Online. Kurwa. Nishat. July 23, 2013. September 28, 2014. NPR.
  4. Web site: Backed By Social+Capital, Brilliant.org Is Finding And Challenging The Brightest, Technical Talent In The World. Rao. Leena. August 11, 2013. September 28, 2014. TechCrunch.
  5. News: Bellos. Alex. Can you solve it? Pi Day puzzles that will leave you pie-eyed. 27 July 2017. The Guardian.
  6. Web site: Carlson . Nicholas . April 30, 2013 . The 10 Smartest Kids In The World (And The Crazy Math Problems They Can Solve) . September 28, 2014 . Business Insider.
  7. Web site: How to Graduate From a Failing School System and Still Be Brilliant. A 26-year-old entrepreneur ensures gifted students worldwide receive the kind of education they need.. Antoniades. Andri. May 7, 2013. September 28, 2014. TakePart. https://web.archive.org/web/20150405093418/http://www.takepart.com/article/2013/05/07/sue-khim-brilliant. 2015-04-05. dead.
  8. Web site: Reason to Celebrate with Puzzles from Brilliant.org and Iwahiro. Antonick. Gary Antonick. Gary. December 21, 2015. August 7, 2017. The New York Times. .
  9. Web site: Reasonable-Seeming but WRONG Approximations of π. Antonick. Gary. March 14, 2016. August 7, 2017. The New York Times.
  10. News: Puglise. Nicole. From The Dress to the 'extinction effect': the internet obsession with brain teasers. August 7, 2017. The Guardian.
  11. Web site: Rig The Election ... With Math!. Roeder. Oliver. October 28, 2016. August 7, 2017. FiveThirtyEight.
  12. Web site: The Math Revolution. Tyre. Peg. March 2016. August 7, 2017. The Atlantic.
  13. Web site: 30 Under 30: Education. https://web.archive.org/web/20121231030105/http://www.forbes.com/pictures/lml45mkil/sue-khim-26-cofounder-and-ceo-brilliant/. dead. December 31, 2012. Forbes. September 28, 2014.
  14. https://www.mprnews.org/story/2019/09/05/newly-hired-scientist-for-california-among-boat-fire-victims
  15. Web site: Brilliant Acquires Leading Interactive Video Platform Hellosaurus . 2023-11-26 . . en.