OSLO – Kahoot!, the global learning and engagement platform company, today announced that General Atlantic, a leading global growth equity firm, has joined its investor base to support the company’s next phase of expansion. Existing investor SB Northstar LP, a fund managed by a 100% directly owned subsidiary of SoftBank Group Corp., partner to Kahoot! since 2020, is selling its full 15% stake in the company to General Atlantic. Upon completion of the transaction, General Atlantic is expected to become Kahoot!’s largest shareholder. With a mission of making learning awesome for millions of people around the world, Kahoot! plans to partner with General Atlantic to accelerate further growth initiatives, drive innovation, and expand its global footprint in homes, schools, and corporations.
Since its founding in 2013, the Kahoot! Group has grown into a multifaceted offering and a portfolio of leading brands at the intersection of digital learning and audience engagement. Since launch, the core Kahoot! service has been used by 8 billion non-unique cumulative participants across the globe. The engagement and learning platform targets customers across diverse demographics and application verticals through Kahoot! at Work, used in 97% of Fortune 500 companies for corporate learning and engagement; Kahoot! at School, used by approximately 9 million teachers in the classroom; Kahoot! at Home & Study, used by more than 18 million users as an at-home gamified learning solution; and Kahoot! Academy, an online creator community and marketplace for educational content. Across verticals, Kahoot! services recorded 28 million active users globally in the last twelve months. Since 2021, the Group also includes Clever, a single sign-on EdTech platform and digital classroom, used by approximately 70% of U.S. K-12 schools. With extensive engagement, learning, and content solutions for home, school, and work, the Kahoot! Group caters to users across North America, Europe, APAC, LATAM, and MENA.
Eilert Hanoa, CEO of Kahoot!, commented, “We are very grateful to SoftBank for their partnership over the past two years. As Kahoot! continues to pursue its mission to improve lifelong learning by building a leading global learning and engagement platform, we are thrilled to add a partner of General Atlantic’s caliber. The team at GA brings deep experience in scaling global education technology and software businesses and positioning market leaders for long-term success, and we look forward to our next phase of momentum in empowering the learning ecosystem around the world.”
Chris Caulkin, Managing Director and Head of Technology for EMEA at General Atlantic, continued, “We believe Kahoot! has significant potential for further growth as digital learning solutions continue to be adopted across its work, school, and home markets. With its much-loved brand, product-centric approach, and engaged global user base, Kahoot! is well positioned to scale, and we look forward to supporting Eilert and the full Kahoot! team in the years to come as they reach and engage ever more users worldwide.”
Closing remains subject to customary regulatory conditions. Following closing and subject to shareholder approval, Chris Caulkin is expected to join the Board of Directors.
J.P. Morgan served as financial advisor and Wikborg Rein as legal advisor to General Atlantic.