StudyBlue

About StudyBlue

StudyBlue originated as a digital learning platform focused on collaborative, crowdsourced study tools. The company's journey began in 2006 when it was founded as The Class Connection by students at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, including Chris Klundt. Klundt's personal frustration with the limitations of the university's official learning management system inspired the creation of a platform built for students, by students, to facilitate online collaboration and study groups. Initially, the team tried to build a comprehensive system with numerous features but eventually narrowed its focus to the elements that resonated most with students: digital flashcards, notes, and quizzes. The venture was incorporated and renamed StudyBlue in 2009, later relocating from Madison, Wisconsin, to San Francisco in 2012.

The platform operated on a freemium business model, providing an extensive library of user-generated content for students in high school and college. Its core service allowed users to create, share, and access a vast repository of study materials, which grew to contain over 500 million individual pieces of content. Students could use the web platform or native iOS and Android applications to access flashcards, study guides, and notes, and connect with peers studying the same subjects. This content-agnostic approach allowed it to serve a wide range of academic disciplines. Revenue was generated through premium subscriptions that offered enhanced features. The business successfully raised over $20 million in venture capital from investors including Great Oaks Venture Capital and WARF.

A significant milestone occurred in July 2018 when Chegg, Inc. acquired StudyBlue for approximately $20.8 million in an all-cash deal. The acquisition was a strategic move for Chegg to enhance its content offerings by integrating StudyBlue's massive library of user-generated materials and leveraging ten years of student learning data. Following the acquisition, StudyBlue became a Chegg Service, and the paywall was removed to make the tools more accessible. However, the StudyBlue platform was ultimately discontinued at the end of 2020 and its features were integrated into a new service called Chegg Prep.