Geniebook raises $16.6 million Series A for personalized learning

Singapore-based online learning company Geniebook said on October 19, 2021, that it had raised US$16.6 million in a Series A round led jointly by East Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners.

Individual backers in the round included John Danner of Dunce Capital, Unacademy founders Gaurav Munjal and Roman Saini, and Snapdeal founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, along with executives from Grab, Shopee and Gojek. The deal took the company's total funding to about US$18 million, following a US$1.1 million pre-Series A round from Apricot Capital in 2019. Geniebook planned to use the money to hire senior leaders, enlarge its product development team and grow in its markets.

Founded in 2017 by Neo Zhizhong and Alicia Cheong, Geniebook teaches English, mathematics and science to primary and secondary students, following Singapore's curriculum. It has three products: GenieSmart, which uses AI to generate practice worksheets tailored to each student; GenieClass, a live online class service; and GenieAsk, teacher-led discussion groups. At the time of the round the company reported 150,000 students and about 350 employees across Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia, with Singapore and Vietnam as its main markets. It also said that it was profitable.