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§ Private Profile · San Francisco, CA, USA
Online social learning platform for standardized test prep and general education, offering game mechanics and peer-to-peer learning.
Grockit is an online social learning platform providing test preparation for standardized exams like the GMAT and SAT, later expanding into general education subjects. It integrates game mechanics, multimedia content, and peer-to-peer interactions, enabling students to learn and teach within a community setting. The company secured over $17 million in total funding, including an $8 million Series B round in 2008 and a $7 million Series C round in 2010 led by Atlas Venture. Leadership included founder Farbood Nivi as Chief Product Officer, CEO Roy Gilbert (formerly of Google), and Chief Strategy Officer Rusty Greiff (ex-Clinton administration). Grockit launched its Grockit Academy initiative to broaden its focus to subjects like math and English for school districts. The organization was founded in December 2006 by Farbood Nivi.
Grockit has raised $65.2M across 7 funding rounds.
Grockit has raised $65.2M in total across 7 funding rounds.
Grockit has raised $65.2M in total across 7 funding rounds.
Grockit's investors include Collaborative Seed & Growth Partners, LearnStart, Atlas Venture, Benchmark Capital, Jean-Briac Perrette, GSV Ventures, Integral Capital Partners, Summit Group, Alpha Edison, Audrey Capital, Benchmark, Canvas Ventures.
Grockit has raised $65.2M across 7 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $170K Series U in July 2014.
Grockit was a technology company that built an online social learning platform focused on test preparation. It offered interactive, multiplayer games for standardized exams like the SAT, ACT, GMAT, GRE, and LSAT, serving over a million students worldwide by combining social collaboration, adaptive algorithms, and gamification to enhance learning outside the classroom[1][2][3]. The platform solved the problem of isolated, ineffective studying by enabling real-time peer interaction and personalized content adaptation, with early adoption by schools like Florida Virtual Schools and KIPP[3]. Acquired by Kaplan in 2013, it rebranded to Learnist for broader learning tools but ceased standalone operations by 2016[1][2].
Grockit was founded in 2006 (or late 2006 per some accounts) by Farbood Nivi, a former teacher of a decade who won Princeton Review's National Teacher of the Year award[2][3]. Nivi, a University of Michigan graduate with prior ventures like Vision Computer Solutions and WAPonimizer, started the company after recognizing the need for peer-to-peer teaching connections, inspired by his classroom experience and an MIT Sloan entrepreneurship win[3]. Early traction came from its beta social learning game for test prep, expanding to partnerships with educational institutions and launching Learnist in 2012 as a Pinterest-like tool for curating multimedia learning content[1][3][6].
Grockit rode the early 2010s wave of edtech innovation, blending social media dynamics (like collaboration and curation) with gamification and AI to disrupt rote test prep amid rising demand for personalized online education[1][2][4][5]. Timing aligned with mobile learning growth and platforms like YouTube EDU, positioning it to extend classroom learning during a shift toward data-driven, interactive tools[3][4][6]. It influenced the ecosystem by pioneering social learning models adopted by acquirers like Kaplan and inspiring Pinterest-style edtools, though its 2016 shutdown reflected consolidation in a maturing market favoring integrated giants[1][2].
Post-2016, Grockit no longer operates independently, its assets absorbed into Kaplan's ecosystem, limiting direct growth but embedding its social-adaptive innovations into larger test prep offerings[1][2]. Emerging AI tutors and VR learning trends could revive similar mechanics, potentially through Kaplan revivals or Nivi's future ventures. Its legacy underscores edtech's evolution toward hyper-personalized, community-fueled platforms—watch for reincarnations in adaptive learning amid ongoing demand for engaging alternatives to traditional education[7]. This trailblazing social learning pioneer reminds us how early tech bets shape today's AI-enhanced study tools.