Race for education tech heats up

GOOD LUCK-Sell, monetize and call it a day seems to be a lot of startup founders dream today. And in the markets tremble, who really can blame them?

New York-based Knewton hanging tough. Online learning company announced on Tuesday that it was a partner with Pearson to add Adaptive learning technology to all publishers of online courses, beginning with college-level programs.

Instead of selling it yourself, Knewton has signed an agreement with the industry giants, the opposite may be the acquirer. The deal is just the latest sign that a few startups hold their own with industry heavyweights as new technology education market heats up.

Pearson was close to 9 million college-age students will work in digital Knewton's system, creating a large amount of data that coveted on how students learn online. Pearson would get semi-exclusive access to the Knewton's Adaptive learning technology. Knewton and, which recently raised $ 33 million in venture capital funding in a round led by Pearson and the Founders Fund, will get a share of proceeds on the basis of the number of Pearson (PSO) online students. "The network effect of Pearson wrapped in a bow," said Jose Ferreira, founder and CEO of Knewton's.

Demand for online education. The global market for online learning at business schools and is expected to grow from 32.1 billion in the year 2010 for about $ 50 billion by 2015, according to research firm Ambient insight. And Pearson are far from the only players who are fighting for a piece of that growth. News Corp.)