| Kno, Inc. | |
| Type: | Subsidiary of Intel |
| Defunct: | 2013 |
| Location City: | Santa Clara, CA |
| Location Country: | United States |
| Key People: | Osman Rashid Babur Habib Marc Andreessen |
| Industry: | E-learning |
| Products: | eTextbooks and eBooks |
| Services: | Education software |
Kno, Inc. was a software company that worked with publishers to offer digital textbooks and other educational materials.[1] In November 2013, after raising nearly $100 million in venture capital, the company was acquired by Intel. The website was stopped and the service renamed to Intel Education Study later on.[2]
Founded in May 2009, Kno was headed by CEO Osman Rashid,[3] the co-founder of Chegg, and CTO Babur Habib, a consumer electronics veteran. The firm received funding from Andreessen Horowitz,[4] Intel Capital, Goldman Sachs, FLOODGATE and GSV Capital, and was based in Santa Clara, California.
The company initially announced, in June 2010, a line of tablet computers.[5] Its goal was to offer a "digital textbook/student platform" aimed at the academic market.[4] The textbook tablet was available either with a single panel 14.1" touchscreen or with dual 14.1" touchscreens.[6] The operating system was based on Linux and Webkit.[7]
In April 2011, the company announced that it had licensed its hardware design to Intel and would instead focus on developing software.[8] Two months later, the company released an iPad application,[9] followed by versions for the Galaxy Note 10.1,[10] Android Jelly Bean,[11] Windows 7 & 8,[12] and Web platforms and devices.[13]
In August 2012, the company expanded its catalog of titles from college textbooks to include the K-12 market.[14]
The company was acquired by Intel the following year.[15]