The makers of Epic!, one of many apps jockeying to become a “Netflix for books,” have raised $8 million in a round led by Reach Capital, the education-specialized venture firm. Additional investors in the Series C included TransLink Capital, Rakuten Ventures, Menlo Ventures, WI Harper, Brighteye Ventures and Innovation Endeavors.
Epic! at its core is an on-demand digital library that includes about 25,000 different books and videos appropriate for kids in elementary school, or between the ages of about five and twelve. Some of the books on the platform have audio components, allowing kids to listen as they read along. The startup, which was founded in 2013 and launched its app in 2014, claims to reach 5 million kids today, in part through use of Epic! in schools.
According to Epic! co-founder Kevin Donahue, formerly a VP of Content for YouTube, the startup thinks of itself as more of a consumer brand than an education one. The company charges kids’ families, not schools or districts, for use of its app. But Epic! does allow teachers to use their app and its massive digital library in class for free.
By giving away the app, of course teachers do some of the work of marketing for Epic!, a kind of symbiosis not uncommon in education tech. To date, the company reports 87…