South Korea’s leading educational content provider Woongjin ThinkBig Co. acquired a 10 percent stake in a U.S. edutech firm for $5 million as it seeks to ramp up its capabilities in big data and artificial intelligence. The Korean company said on Tuesday it has forged a strategic partnership with Kidaptive, a Silicon-Valley based startup funded by Stanford University that develops educational technology using big data and machine learning. Woongjin plans to launch Book Club AI Coaching, a new service jointly developed with Kidaptive, in Korea early next month. Book Club AI Coaching is an AI-empowered program that analyzes the error patterns of Woongjin Book Club members to provide customized solutions based on their learning capacity and study behavior. Woongjin’s mainstay Book Club is a membership-based book reading platform that offers subscribers a wide selection of e-books including home-study materials. The company said it collects more than 11 million data records from 240,000 members daily to create more personalized learning experiences and effective educational techniques. Shares of Woongjin ThinkBig closed Wednesday up 0.68 percent at 7,420 won ($6.95). By Shin Soo-hyun and Kim Hyo-jin [ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]
US start - up Google , founded by Stanford University , has secured $ 5 million after Woongjin ThinkBig , leading South Korean educational content provider acquired a 10 % stake . Kidaptive uses big data and artificial intelligence ( AI ) to improve educational technology , and partnered with Woongjin ThinkBig on Book Club Online Coaching , set to launch in Korea in March . The project uses club members ' learning patterns to offer personalised learning solutions .