Swedish DigiExam, whose tools are used to create and grade academic tests, unveiled a $3.5 million Series A round on Friday, saying it would use the funding for aggressive expansion in the US and other markets.
The round was led by a syndicate of tech entrepreneurs and investors from Europe and Asia including Joen Bonnier, of the Bonnier family, owner of the largest media group in Sweden, it said.
“Secure, efficient, and reliable digital testing is better for teachers and students alike because it saves both time and money,” said Johan Hägglund, CEO and co-founder of DigiExam.
The 2014-founded company has discovered its niche in the EdTech revolution and signed up teachers around the world to use the service which digitizes exams, making them much faster to review. In addition to the US expansion the firm is also expanding in the British market.
With DigiExam, testing and examinations take less time to prepare, less time to take and less time to grade. DigiExam estimates it can save teachers 50% of their time in a test situation – time spent giving and grading traditional tests.
“It’s not whether schools will move to digital assessments, it’s when they do it and how,” said Joen Bonnier. “DigiExam has the potential to both transform school assessment practices and produce great return.”
Hägglund and his cofounders understood the problem when they studied at Stockholm School of Economics, and had to pick up the pen and start filling papers at a time when everything else was already fully online. Universities share their courses and some Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) become truly massive with thousands of participants from all over the world, offering a completely new way of looking at the higher education.
