Perlego raises $9M Series A for its textbook subscription service

Tech Crunch

Backing the round is Charlie Songhurst, Dedicated VC, and Thomas Leysen (Chairman of Mediahuis and Umicore). Perlego’s existing investors including ADV, Simon Franks and Alex Chesterman also reinvested on a pro-rata basis.

London-based Perlego says the additional funding will be used to develop the next generation of Perlego’s “smarter learning platform,” including adding new features that simplify and enhance the learning experience, as well as content libraries in non-English languages to enable further expansion to “strategic” European markets beyond its U.K. roots.

Pitched as akin to a “Spotify for textbooks,” Perlego enables students, and also professionals, who now make up 30% of users, to access textbooks on a subscription basis.

It houses over 300,000 eBooks, from over 2,300 publishers, and the service is cross-device — via the web and iOS and Android apps — and available in multiple languages. Along with U.K. publishers, Perlego now also includes content from key publishers in Germany, the Nordics and Italy.

For the students, the draw is obvious: text books are increasingly expensive to purchase, and public libraries are under resourced. In the U.K., Perlego gives readers access to its entire digital library for £12 per month. As long as the needed text books are available on the service, that is infinitely more affordable.

For publishers, Perlego claims to offer a distribution method that stems revenue losses caused by piracy and the buoyant used text book market — hence the comparison to Spotify’s positioning.

Publishers such as Pearson, Wiley and Sage are already on board, Perlego says it is seeing a 116% increase in new subscribers month-on-month, though it isn’t breaking out subscriber numbers.

Original Article

Ex Goldman Sachs banker raises £450K for AI-driven fitness app

uktech.news

By Sian Bradley (uktech.news)

Auro, an app which has built an AI-driven fitness coach, has closed its second seed funding round, bringing its total raise to £450K since the company launched in 2017.

The startup was founded by ex Goldman Sachs banker Anta Pattabiraman, and is now backed by European tech entrepreneurs including the founders of Zoopla, LoveFilm and Passion Capital.

Auro offers personalised workouts – referred to as a “personal trainer in your ear”. The workouts are created using content from experienced world class instructors, creating motivating playlists and using data science.

The aim is to build AI that learns and adapts based on activity level so users may achieve and exceed their fitness goals. CEO Anta Pattabiraman explained this further: “When you add all of the elements a PT brings including proven programming of the type you find in the top boutique studios in London, with curated music playlists, data driven personalisation and a vibrant fitness community you can be a part of, you have an engaging, personalised fitness solution in an app.”

This funding will be used to develop the product and its AI capabilities and grow the team.

India-born entrepreneur and angel investor Pattabiraman was inspired to create an affordable personal trainer after a PT helped him to get back in shape after suffering from a sports related injury. “There are 9.7 million gym members in the UK, yet only a quarter of a million use personal trainers because of the cost,” he said. “Without personalised instruction, most people get demotivated and don’t make the most of their gym membership/ fitness schedule. I fundamentally believed that this could be changed. I wanted to make personalised instruction available to one and all.”

The gym industry is a strong one,with a recent report by Deloitte stating that the European fitness market is currently worth £24bn, whilst other research shows that having a personal trainer to guide and motivate you improves the chances of achieving one’s fitness goals by 73%.

Pattabiraman went on to explain how Auro is filling a gap in the market: “The fit-tech space has really started to take off in the last 18 months or so, with many new innovative products hitting the market. We are focusing on personalising workouts to suit every individual using technology.

“We are building a platform for the future where the intensity and duration of the classes will adapt to the user in just the same way as a great PT would adapt fitness programmes individually for their client,” he added.

But how does Auro differ from other online fitness providers? Auro is portable and app-based, with workouts dedicated to gym based or outdoor activities and exercises. The intention is to mimic the energy of a group gym class.

Investor, founder and CEO of Zoopla, Alex Chesterman explained why he thinks the company is unique: “Having looked at the virtual fitness space closely for a few years, I believe Auro has come out with a unique product that offers consumers personalised instruction and variety at a compelling price point without the need for expensive hardware,” he said.

Auro offers a basic £8 per month subscription model, and is completely audio based.

Simon Franks, investor and co-founder of LoveFilm, concluded: “I am really happy to support Auro on their journey. This investment reflects our belief in the management team and also our continued interest in the intersection between health, fitness and technology.”

Original Article
By Sian Bradley (uktech.news)

Auro, an app which has built an AI-driven fitness coach, has closed its second seed funding round, bringing its total raise to £450K since the company launched in 2017.

The startup was founded by ex Goldman Sachs banker Anta Pattabiraman, and is now backed by European tech entrepreneurs including the founders of Zoopla, LoveFilm and Passion Capital.

Auro offers personalised workouts – referred to as a “personal trainer in your ear”. The workouts are created using content from experienced world class instructors, creating motivating playlists and using data science.

The aim is to build AI that learns and adapts based on activity level so users may achieve and exceed their fitness goals. CEO Anta Pattabiraman explained this further: “When you add all of the elements a PT brings including proven programming of the type you find in the top boutique studios in London, with curated music playlists, data driven personalisation and a vibrant fitness community you can be a part of, you have an engaging, personalised fitness solution in an app.”

This funding will be used to develop the product and its AI capabilities and grow the team.

India-born entrepreneur and angel investor Pattabiraman was inspired to create an affordable personal trainer after a PT helped him to get back in shape after suffering from a sports related injury. “There are 9.7 million gym members in the UK, yet only a quarter of a million use personal trainers because of the cost,” he said. “Without personalised instruction, most people get demotivated and don’t make the most of their gym membership/ fitness schedule. I fundamentally believed that this could be changed. I wanted to make personalised instruction available to one and all.”

The gym industry is a strong one,with a recent report by Deloitte stating that the European fitness market is currently worth £24bn, whilst other research shows that having a personal trainer to guide and motivate you improves the chances of achieving one’s fitness goals by 73%.

Pattabiraman went on to explain how Auro is filling a gap in the market: “The fit-tech space has really started to take off in the last 18 months or so, with many new innovative products hitting the market. We are focusing on personalising workouts to suit every individual using technology.

“We are building a platform for the future where the intensity and duration of the classes will adapt to the user in just the same way as a great PT would adapt fitness programmes individually for their client,” he added.

But how does Auro differ from other online fitness providers? Auro is portable and app-based, with workouts dedicated to gym based or outdoor activities and exercises. The intention is to mimic the energy of a group gym class.

Investor, founder and CEO of Zoopla, Alex Chesterman explained why he thinks the company is unique: “Having looked at the virtual fitness space closely for a few years, I believe Auro has come out with a unique product that offers consumers personalised instruction and variety at a compelling price point without the need for expensive hardware,” he said.

Auro offers a basic £8 per month subscription model, and is completely audio based.

Simon Franks, investor and co-founder of LoveFilm, concluded: “I am really happy to support Auro on their journey. This investment reflects our belief in the management team and also our continued interest in the intersection between health, fitness and technology.”

Original Article

Fitness App Auro Closes Second Seed Funding; Brings Total to £450K

finsmes.com

By finsmes.com

Auro, a UK based provider of an AI-driven fitness app, closed a second seed funding round, bringing the total funds it has raised since its launch less than a year ago to £450K.

Backers included Alex Chesterman, founder of Zoopla, Simon Franks, co-founder of LoveFilm and Stefan Glaenzer, founding partner of Passion Capital.

The company intends to use the funds will be used to reinforce the development of content, build the team and its AI capabilities.

Co-founded by entrepreneur and amateur marathon runner Anta Pattabiraman, a former Goldman Sachs investment banker, and Karthik Naraynan, a former chief engineer at Samsung, Auro provides a data driven, audio-only personal trainer app that adapts fitness programs individually for the user.

Personal Trainer fitness programs have been adapted for outdoor runs, treadmill, cross trainer / elliptical, spin, rowing and strength.

The subscription fee is £8 per month. Auro is available to download via Apple App Store and Google Play.

Original Article
By finsmes.com

Auro, a UK based provider of an AI-driven fitness app, closed a second seed funding round, bringing the total funds it has raised since its launch less than a year ago to £450K.

Backers included Alex Chesterman, founder of Zoopla, Simon Franks, co-founder of LoveFilm and Stefan Glaenzer, founding partner of Passion Capital.

The company intends to use the funds will be used to reinforce the development of content, build the team and its AI capabilities.

Co-founded by entrepreneur and amateur marathon runner Anta Pattabiraman, a former Goldman Sachs investment banker, and Karthik Naraynan, a former chief engineer at Samsung, Auro provides a data driven, audio-only personal trainer app that adapts fitness programs individually for the user.

Personal Trainer fitness programs have been adapted for outdoor runs, treadmill, cross trainer / elliptical, spin, rowing and strength.

The subscription fee is £8 per month. Auro is available to download via Apple App Store and Google Play.

Original Article