Business · Companies · 6 hrs ago
Perlego expands access to academic books with digital library and learning tools
London-based edtech company Perlego offers academic books through a digital subscription library.
It gives subscribers access to more than 1.5 million books and has raised over €70 million in funding.
The company grew from concerns about costly textbooks and students turning to piracy or second-hand books.
Its digital tools include adjustable text and colours, a dyslexia-friendly mode and text-to-speech.
Text-to-speech is available for more than 95 per cent of its catalogue, making many specialist books available in audio without separate audiobook production.
Perlego's AI research tools draw on licensed content and point users to sources, rather than offering answers without identifiable references.
The company says it must balance students' needs with publishers' copyright concerns and academics' worries about learning.
London-based edtech company Perlego offers a subscription digital library with access to more than 1.5 million books.
The service includes accessibility features such as adjustable fonts, a dyslexia-friendly reading mode and text-to-speech.
Perlego says its Read Aloud feature is available across more than 95 per cent of its catalogue.
The company has introduced AI-powered research tools that draw on licensed educational content and direct users to relevant sources.
Perlego has raised more than €70 million in funding.
- Who
- Perlego, a London-based edtech company founded by CEO Gauthier Van Malderen.
- What
- It provides a subscription digital library, accessibility features and AI-powered research tools.
- When
- Not stated
- Where
- London-based; its digital library is available to users online.
- Why
- Van Malderen said he developed the idea after seeing students unable to afford books and turn to sharing or illegal websites.
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- Library catalogue
- More than 1.5 million books
- Read Aloud coverage
- More than 95 per cent of Perlego's catalogue
- Funding
- More than €70 million
- Headquarters
- London
What people are saying
Students were sharing books or turning to illegal websites because they couldn't afford to buy them. I started thinking about how people were already subscribing to music and films, and wondered why the same model couldn't exist for educational books. That's where Perlego came from.
For academic textbooks, research papers and other specialist materials, producing conventional audiobooks often doesn't make economic sense. With text-to-speech, we can make that content available in audio format without needing to produce a separate audiobook.
Our research tool uses semantic search and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), which means it draws on content from our catalogue rather than simply generating an answer. For example, you might ask about the impact of interest rates on debt markets. The system generates an answer with the relevant source information and takes you directly to the book.