Another Big Move Hits Higher-Ed Publishing, as Wiley Buys Knewton

Business Wire

Another big publisher in higher ed is making a strategic move. John Wiley & Sons announced on Monday that it was buying the assets of Knewton, an 11-year-old company that has at times been held up as the poster child for ed-tech overhype.

Knewton was initially known for its adaptive-learning tools designed to work with content from commercial publishers, but more recently it has shifted focus toward its platform that incorporates open educational resources, or OER.

The move came on the heels of last week’s merger announcement from Cengage and McGraw-Hill.

The purchase price for Knewton was not disclosed. Over the course of its history, it has attracted more than $180 million in venture-capital funding but often struggled to establish its value in the fledgling adaptive-learning marketplace. Two years ago, one of its biggest partners and investors, Pearson, decided to phase out its use of Knewton’s adaptive-learning technology.

Knewton’s pivot in 2018 toward tools that combine adaptive-learning technology with open educational resources was a big part of the attraction for Wiley. With its Alta digital-courseware platform, Knewton is primarily an OER company now, Wiley’s president and chief executive, Brian Napack, told The Chronicle. The product costs students about $40 per course.

Wiley wants to “double down” on low-cost options, Napack said. “We’re doing this because we think the future needs to look different than the past.”

Goldie Blumenstyk writes about the intersection of business and higher education. Check out www.goldieblumenstyk.com for information on her book about the higher-education crisis; follow her on Twitter @GoldieStandard; or email her at goldie@chronicle.com.