Discovery Press Web United States

• Print

Chicago – Curiosity.com – a consumer-centered online marketplace featuring the best learning-based content from across the web – announced today it will change ownership from Discovery Communications to an independent company, Beacon Solutions, Inc. The Chicago-based venture also has raised $6 million in Series A funding from Discovery and four local investors: Pritzker Group Venture Capital, Origin Ventures, Chicago Ventures and Corazon Capital.                                                                                           

“Discovery Communications itself was born from a singular idea, the Discovery Channel, combined with a strong entrepreneurial spirit, and we continue to pursue strategic growth opportunities, especially in the knowledge space,” said Bruce Campbell, Chief Development and Digital Officer and General Counsel, Discovery Communications, who oversaw the transaction for the company. “Curiosity.com has evolved from a powerful concept to a strong platform and business. We look forward to continuing to support Curiosity.com’s growth and development, along with this new, strong team of investors.”

 Conceived, incubated and launched in January 2014 by Discovery Communications, Curiosity.com encourages users to have fun while learning, and makes it easy by aggregating and organizing content that fuels curiosity and knowledge-building – with more than 500,000 courses, classes and tutorials from 300 trusted partners. With the added investment and under the leadership of Founder and CEO Gabe Vehovsky, the team will continue to enhance the Curiosity.com platform and refine its offering for consumers. Joining Vehovsky on the Board of Directors will be Sean Atkins (Discovery Communications), Adam Koopersmith (Pritzker Group Venture Capital) and Brent Hill (Origin Ventures).

“During my seven years with Discovery, I have been inspired by a mission-driven culture that values curiosity and growth on all levels, and I am grateful for Discovery’s foresight and support for Curiosity.com,” said Gabe Vehovsky, Founder and CEO of Curiosity.com. “With this solid foundation and thanks to our forward-thinking financial partners, Curiosity.com is ready for its next chapter, reaching growing audiences and, most importantly, making it fun and easy for them to never stop learning.” 

“With a world class technology team, Curiosity is tackling the complicated problem of aggregating and categorizing the world's educational content, and packaging it in a way to delight consumers,” said Adam Koopersmith, who led the investment for Pritzker Group Venture Capital. “Gabe, the team at Curiosity, and Discovery have done a great job building the foundation for a great business and we're excited to be their partner as we tackle this ambitious goal.”

For this transaction, Discovery Communications was advised by Proskauer Rose LLP. Pritzker Group Venture Capital, Origin Ventures, Chicago Ventures and Corazon Capital were advised by Burns & Levinson LLP. 

Life-long learners are invited to feed their curiosity at Curiosity.com, which is optimized for mobile, tablet and desktop devices.