Anywyse, an Amsterdam-based audio learning platform where everyone can become a creator, announced that it has raised fresh funds. The amount of this round remains undisclosed.
The company was formed during the acceleration programme of the Humanities Lab – University of Amsterdam. The Humanities Lab offers a platform for education about entrepreneurship and is aimed at staff, PhD students, students and alumni. 10X, a corporation that specialises in large-scale production and startup finance, hosted this event.
It was during this programme that Anywyse platform raised its first funding.
“Bite-sized audio summaries made by the smartest senior students”
In the Netherlands, podcasts are very popular. For instance, half of all Dutch people sometimes listen to a podcast. And according to a study by Merkeffect from December 2021, this ratio is highest among students, at 73 per cent. The trick is to convert that listening into learning. And it is precisely the market into which Anywyse ventures.
Founded by Julien Jukema, Anywyse’s platform provides students audio modules (‘Wysers’) of 10-15 minutes. These modules are written and voiced by selected students and voice actors. The Wysers are built on a format that was created primarily for memorising material rather than the more “linear listening” found in podcasts.
The company says, thousands of students have already used the Wysers and use the app when walking the dog, cycling, working etc. “It really gives students back their freedom. Of course, students can listen to lectures, but we have developed our ‘scripts’ in such a way that the information actually sticks, through repetition and clear structure. This makes studying easier,” says founder Julien Jukema.
Jukema adds, “Anywyse not only makes learning more pleasant, but it also becomes more accessible because you can combine it with other things such as cooking or a walk. And from the feedback, we also get back that students get good results with it.”
Investors and capital utilisation
Investors in this round include Anadya Investments, founded by startup founder Daniel Haven, and the student fund ASIF Ventures, a VC fund that supports startups by students and recent graduates.
According to the company, in the Netherlands, there are presently 340 thousand students, and Anywyse has Wysers for students at UvA, VU, Erasmus, RUG, Utrecht University, Leiden University, Tilburg University, Radboud University, and the University of Twente, among others. The company believes there is also international potential as many subjects are the same in many studies and the Wysers are taken in English.
Therefore founder Jukema plans to scale up quickly with the money raised. His objective isn’t only to create a marketplace for study materials; he wants to ensure that in the future, young people may quickly transform information into audio, share it with others, and learn.
Investor Daniel Haven believes, “With a strong team and a clear vision, Anywyse can make a big impact for students.”
Meet Anywyse on June 16, at the Amsterdam Pavilion (Booth 15) at The Next Web Conference 2022, and hear their pitch at 14:00.
