London based business Up Learn, has secured £600,000 debt financing from the Greater London Investment Fund (GLIF) to grow its platform, which helps A Level students achieve A / A* grades through optimised learning.
The funding will enable the business to expand its product offering, initially allowing Up Learn to cover more A level subjects. The company plans to expand further after this into other qualifications and curricula.
Up Learn was established by Imperial College London alumnus Guy Riese in 2016. The platform uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) and complex cognitive science to help A-Level students achieve top results. It adapts to each student using algorithms which identify and focus on weak spots. Through the use of interactive videos and quizzes, the company creates a personalised learning experience for each user. This helps to build subject knowledge and enables students to learn more over a shorter than average time period.
Guy Riese, Founder and CEO of Up Learn, commented, “We work with many schools covering different exam boards and currently have over 8,000 users. Up Learn has helped 97% of students achieve top grades in the last two years of exams. The teachers we have at Up Learn are world class with decades of experience under their belt. Combined with this knowledge, they work with cognitive science researchers to produce effective study resources to best assist Up Learn students.”
For every fee-paying student, Up Learn provide a complimentary course to a student who can't, through its free school meals scholarships programme and charity partners, such as The Sutton Trust.
David Booth, Investment Manager for The FSE Group, who manages the £55 million GLIF debt fund on behalf of Funding London, added: “We were impressed by the commercial development which Guy has achieved to date and the opportunity for growth as Up Learn expands its curriculum coverage. We look forward to supporting Guy with his growth ambition as Up Learn continues to expand its service.”
Maggie Rodriguez-Piza, CEO at Funding London, adds: “Combining world-class teaching with the latest research and technology, Up Learn has gone from strength to strength since its launch in 2016. Guy and his team have definitely capitalised on the accelerated demand for EdTechs and are now poised for excellent growth. I admire Up Learn’s mission to make an impact by extending the benefits of their growth to those students who have been most affected by the pandemic via their provision of complimentary subscriptions to students who would otherwise have no access. We are excited to support the curriculum expansion plans leading to further growth for the company over the coming years.”
GLIF is a £100m initiative to help address the SME finance gap in Greater London, promoting economic growth through enterprise and an inclusive and sustainable economy. £55m of debt funding is available, via loans between £100,000 and £1m, to early-stage and established SMEs looking to scale-up and realise their growth ambitions. GLIF is financed through the European Investment Bank (EIB), European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), London Waste & recycling Board (LWARB) and Funding London’s Legacies.