Knowunity, a Berlin-based learning platform built “by and for students“, has raised €27 million in a Series B round to further develop its AI learning companion, hire talent, and expand into new markets, particularly the U.S. and Asia, with the long-term goal of reaching 1 billion students worldwide.
The round was led by European investor XAnge, with participation from Portfolion, Isomer Capital, Project A, Redalpine and Educapital, alongside prominent business angels, entrepreneur and Startup Association chair Verena Pausder, and Booking.com Founder Arthur Kosten – bringing the total raised to €45 million.
Benedict Kurz, Co-founder and CEO of Knowunity, said: “We started Knowunity because education was being left behind. Every other part of our lives – how we shop, connect, or stay fit – was becoming smarter and more personalised. But school? Still one-size-fits-all. With AI, we can finally give students what they actually need: instant feedback, tailored learning plans, and real motivation. Our goal is to make this companion experience available to a billionstudents worldwide & therewith allow truly personalised education for every student.”
Knowunity was founded in 2020 by Benedict Kurz (CEO), alongside Gregor Weber (CPO), Lucas Hild (CTO), and Yannik Prigl (Backend), all of them just 17 years old and still in school at the time. The idea came from a problem they witnessed firsthand: while tech was transforming fashion, fitness, and finance, school remained stuck in a one-size-fits-all system that didn’t speak students’ language.
Since then, Knowunity has grown into a fast-growing AI learning platform, with over 20 million users across 15 countries. Over 380,000 student creators are actively contributing content to the platform, fueling Knowunity’s organic growth. In Germany, one in three students already uses the app. In Latin America, Knowunity reached one in ten students within just a few months of launching.
Launched as a TikTok-style companion for student-generated notes and explainers, Knowunity has evolved into a full AI-powered study companion. The goal has remained constant: build a learning companion students genuinely want to use – one they’ll recommend, return to, and actually learn from.
Knowunity operates on a freemium model, offering free access to core features, with an optional premium subscription. The company also partners with brands like Vodafone, Gothaer, and Porsche for employer branding integrations. The majority of its revenue now comes from a B2C subscription business, which is being rolled out country by country.
Students use the app more than five times a week to prep for exams, understand topics, and build revision plans. The most popular format remains short-form, curriculum-aligned, visual content that’s surfaced contextually.
The content also fuels Knowunity’s personalised AI tutor, which guides students with tailored recommendations and audio explainers grounded in real-world examples. Unlike generic chatbots, Knowunity says their AI draws from over 3 million peer-created materials, localised across markets, and is fine-tuned to national curricula.
Their AI companion drives usage even further, with users now using the companion over seven times per week per user, with especially strong engagement from younger students.
The company’s long-term goal is to make high-quality, tailored learning accessible to every student on the planet, replacing outdated offline tutoring with 24/7 intelligent support at a fraction of the cost.
Valerie Bures, partner at XAnge, said: “Knowunity is revolutionising the entire education system and will, in the future, provide every student with a personal, AI-based learning companion that explains all topics to them and prepares them for their exams.”
