Kahoot! signals monitisation shift with premium corporate service
Norwegian start-up Kahoot! has launched a premium version of its learning platform for corporate training, signalling a shift towards monetisation. Kahoot! allows teachers to build custom quizzes for their students. Its latest offering, Kahoot! Plus, is targeted at business training schemes, and lets users brand games with the company's logo, as well as giving them more control over where the games are shared. Trainers can also access data on games results, allowing for greater analysis of results.
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Kahoot, an online learning platform that lets teachers create and tailor quizzes for their classes, has announced its first shift into monetization with the launch of a new premium version of the service.

With Kahoot Plus, the Norwegian startup is targeting companies with a product geared toward corporate training initiatives. Kahoot Plus subscribers will be given more flexibility over where the games are shared, as they can be confined to an organization’s own private area and can also be branded with a company’s own logo. Trainers can access advanced reports and data on game results down to the employee level, revealing who’s up to speed and what areas may need improvement.

The story so far

Founded out of Oslo in 2011, Kahoot encourages teachers to play quizmaster with their classes by creating and projecting quizzes onto a whiteboard. Students can then answer multiple-choice questions on whatever topic the teacher has chosen directly from their own device. There is also a public library of more than 20 million existing quizzes that anyone can access.

Kahoot has struck a chord in classrooms around the world, and it now claims more than 50 million monthly active users and is taking the U.S. by storm. Today’s premium launch comes just a few months after Kahoot closed a $20 million funding round, with Microsoft Ventures participating in the round.

So far, Kahoot has offered its platform and resources to educators gratis, but it goes without saying that the company had to consider how to make money at some point. This is where Kahoot Plus comes into play.

Corporate training is reportedly a $130 billion market globally, and Kahoot is going after its piece of the pie by offering to inject a little “fun and engagement” into training programs.

It’s worth noting here that Kahoot already claims corporate customers — the company said more than one million employees use Kahoot for training purposes each month, “including at 25 percent of the Fortune 500 companies,” according to a statement issued by the startup. But now it’s looking to cater specifically to corporate educators, marketers, and sales teams with a more “private, organized, collaborative, and company-branded experience,” it said.

“Billions of dollars and millions of hours are wasted on ineffective corporate training every year,” noted Kahoot CEO Erik Harrell. “All of us have suffered through dull presentation decks and boring training sessions. We believe training should not only be useful, but also fun, memorable, inspiring and even magical. A half million corporate trainers are already using the Kahoot platform and have continually asked us to provide premium features.”

In terms of cost, Kahoot Plus weighs in at an introductory price of $10 per user per month, with an unlimited number of participants on an annual subscription. Those wishing to sign a month-to-month subscription will pay $15 per user per month. The company hasn’t revealed what its full pricing will be after the introductory offer has expired, but we’ll update here if or when we hear back.

“This is Kahoot’s first move to commercialize the company in a scalable way,” added Harrell. “We have 12 paying pilot customers for this product, which has helped us validate pricing and reception to Kahoot Plus’ premium features.”

Importantly, charging businesses for a premium plan means that Kahoot intends to keep the standard version free for schools.