Perlego is a

digital library A digital library (also called an online library, an internet library, a digital repository, a library without walls, or a digital collection) is an online database of digital resources that can include text, still images, audio, video, digital ...

that offers readers unlimited access to over 1 million academic, professional and non-fiction

ebook An ebook (short for electronic book), also spelled as e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in electronic form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. A ...

s. It has been billed as the "Spotify for textbooks" by the ''

Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free newspaper, free of charge in London, Engl ...

''. It is a membership-based service that allows users to read any book available in the library for the duration of their membership. Perlego offers ebooks in 5 languages: English, Spanish, Italian, German and French, from local and international publishers. The service is available worldwide and allows users to read both online and offline on most smartphones, tablets or laptop devices.

History

Perlego was founded in 2017 in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, United Kingdom, by Gauthier Van Malderen and Matthew Davis, both Belgian natives and recent university graduates. Drawing from their personal experiences with the high and rising cost of university

textbooks A textbook is a book containing a comprehensive compilation of content in a branch of study with the intention of explaining it. Textbooks are produced to meet the needs of educators, usually at educational institutions, but also of learners ( ...

, and noting the convenience of accessing music and films via subscription models like Netflix and Spotify, the founders aimed to increase global access to academic resources. They did this by offering students an "''all-you-can-read''" subscription model, providing a more affordable and convenient alternative to purchasing new textbooks while aiding publishers in reclaiming market share lost to

online piracy Online piracy or software piracy is the practice of downloading and distributing copyrighted works digitally without permission, such as music, movies or software. History Nathan Fisk traces the origins of modern online piracy back to similar ...

Funding

Perlego was initially self-funded. Its pre-seed funding was derived from the profit made from Gauthier's previous business venture – Iconic Matter. In January 2017, Perlego raised £850,000 in a round of seed funding. This was led by angel investors from the UK, Belgium and France, with Zoopla founder

Alex Chesterman Alexander Edward Chesterman (born 9 January 1970) is a British Internet entrepreneur, co-founder of ScreenSelect, which later became part of online film distributor LoveFilm, and is the founder and former CEO of online used car platform Cazoo. ...

and LoveFilm founder Simon Franks being notable participants. In September 2018, Perlego raised a further £3,500,000 in a venture round led by Accelerated Digital Ventures, with further participation from its existing angel investors. In November 2019, Perlego closed its Series A fundraising round, having raised a total of £7,000,000. The fundraising was led by Charlie Songhurst, Dedicated VC, and Thomas Leysen (Chairman of Mediahuis and Umicore), with Perlego's existing investors all reinvesting on a pro-rata basis. In March 2022, Perlego closed its Series B fundraising round, raising $50,000,000. The round was led by Mediahuis Ventures.

Services

Perlego's content library currently contains over 1,000,000 titles in English, Italian, Spanish, French and German, covering more than 900 separate disciplines from

aeronautics Aeronautics is the science or art involved with the study, design process, design, and manufacturing of air flight-capable machines, and the techniques of operating aircraft and rockets within the atmosphere. While the term originally referred ...

zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

. At the moment, Perlego works with over 3,000 publishing houses who provide content for the service, including major academic publishers such as Wiley and

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...

. Users can access titles via their browser on desktop computers or download an application on mobile devices where it is also possible to download books for offline reading. Users can highlight and make notes. In 2024, Perlego launched AI Researcher, an AI-assisted tool that enables users to scan the entire contents of the library for specific terms, topics and learnings. Perlego partnered with the University of West London (UWL) in 2022 to provide its full catalogue to all UWL students.

References

{{reflist Ebook suppliers Ebook sources Online mass media companies of the United Kingdom Textbook business British digital libraries Subscription services