- John Wiley & Sons recently announced it acquired Zyante for $56 million in cash. These are the details behind the deal.
Research and education company John Wiley & Sons recently announced it acquired Zyante for $56 million in cash. Zyante is a leading provider of computer science and STEM education courseware company.
Launched in 2012, Zyante and its zyBooks platform has served over 500,000 students across 500 institutions. And the company targets some of the fastest growing and in-demand STEM disciplines — which is bridging the gap between classroom and career, and enhancing lifelong productivity and employability.
The degree demand in these disciplines has grown by 8% between 2013-2017 (National Center for Education Statistics). And jobs in Information Technology and Engineering have respectively grown by 17% and 14% since 2016 (Burning Glass). The revenue for 2019 is expected to be $14 million, a 37% increase over 2018.
“Computer science and STEM education is in very high demand due to the growing needs of the labor market,” said Brian Napack — the president and CEO of Wiley. “Zyante has brought to market a transformative technology platform and an approach to learning that delivers real outcomes in these critical, growing disciplines. zyBooks delivers efficient, engaging learning experiences that fit the needs of today’s students and teachers. The rate of uptake speaks for itself, and we are thrilled to welcome founders Smita Bakshi and Frank Vahid, and the innovative zyBooks team, to the Wiley family.”
The interactive zyBooks platform enables learners to become educated by doing and professors can be more efficient and devote more time to teaching. And the platform maximizes learner engagement and retention through demonstration and hands-on learning experiences using interactive question sets, animations, tools, and embedded labs.
“Through continuous innovation and customer feedback, Zyante has developed a solution that is demonstrably more effective and engaging than traditional learning methods,” added Bakshi (CEO and co-founder of Zyante). “Like Wiley, zyBooks is eager to disrupt the education industry, and we’re excited to work with Wiley to make learning more impactful and accessible.”
The zyBooks platform is going to become an essential component of Wiley’s differentiated digital learning experience. And when combined with the recent acquisition of Knewton’s alta and adaptive learning technology, it will power lower-cost and higher-impact education across Wiley’s education business.
“Zyante’s mission is to help students achieve success, while allowing instructors to be more effective,” explained Frank Vahid (Chief Learning Officer and co-founder of Zyante). “Wiley’s ability to scale this unique pedagogy will allow us to help millions of learners reach their full potential – in their studies and career – and we are excited to join the Wiley family.”
