Singapore edtech startup Geniebook raises S$1.5m in Pre-Series A round

SINGAPORE edtech startup Geniebook has raised S$1.5 million in a Pre-Series A funding round led by Apricot Capital, a diversified multi-asset private investment company based in the Republic.

The funds will be used to expand Geniebook’s data science and curriculum team, and for research and development of the platform’s AI (artificial intelligence) technology.

In its media statement, Geniebook noted that global edtech revenue is expected to grow to US$40.9 billion by next year, with much of the growth driven by demand from the Asia-Pacific region, which will represent 54 per cent of the edtech market by 2020.

The startup’s online learning platform aims to improve the way students learn and revise. Students are offered a personalised experience that specifically targets their weak areas for revision, and generates reports based on each student’s progress.

Geniebook was founded in 2016 by two former tutors, Alicia Cheong and Neo Zhizhong, who have a combined teaching experience of more than 20 years. They previously founded School Plus, a learning centre, in 2007.

Geniebook was initially only available for School Plus students, but the founders made the platform public in 2017 after noting improvements in their own students.

The platform has expanded its services to include a home-edition package, where parents can use the app to track their child’s progress and assign worksheets for practice. Another feature is its live online lessons, which the startup said provides students with additional resources to supplement their learning on the platform.

“Through attempting worksheets targeting their weaker concepts, we realised that our students showed a significant improvement compared to repeated practice using general assessment papers. This led to the creation of the Geniebook platform, which curates targeted worksheets based on each individual student’s strengths and weaknesses,” said its CEO Mr Neo.

Said Apricot Capital managing partner Darren Teo: “With the evolving education landscape in Singapore, the edtech industry has been growing alongside this change in order to provide students with a better learning experience.

“Apricot Capital is delighted to support change-makers and innovative edtech platforms such as Geniebook”.