Capturing the attention of middle and high school students is both a simple and monumental task. If you’re launching a fun new game, they’ll eagerly download it without hesitation. But when the aim is education, like the team behind Revyze is tackling, it becomes a different story altogether. Yet, despite these challenges, the French startup has defied the odds and gained remarkable traction.
In just two years, Revyze has drawn in an impressive one million users. Even more notably, in June, the app climbed to the coveted #1 spot for free downloads on the Apple App Store. That’s not just a fluke of numbers; it’s a testament to its growing influence on the learning habits of students. In fact, one-third of all 9th graders in France turned to Revyze for last-minute help before their national middle school exam.
With over 40,000 videos and quizzes created by 2,000 content creators, Revyze has amassed 150 million views, marking a clear milestone in the educational tech space. This strong user engagement, combined with the app’s impressive traction, has provided a compelling foundation for fundraising. On Monday, the company announced the closing of a €5.5 million ($6 million) seed round led by Speedinvest and Moonfire. Other participants include Motier Ventures, Station F (where the startup is based), and several notable tech founders, such as Supercell’s Illka Paananen, King’s Riccardo Zacconi and Sebastian Knutsson, and Duolingo’s Nickey Skarstad.
Navigating the U.S. Market: A Lesson in Adapting
Despite its success in France, Revyze faced a bumpier road upon expanding into the U.S. Initially, the team’s pitch was straightforward: to build a “TikTok for education.” While TikTok is known for its viral content, including educational videos, the platform often mixes those with distractions like true crime stories, random trending challenges, and much more. The Revyze team wanted to create a focused alternative — an app purely dedicated to education.
In 2023, co-founder Guillaume Perrot moved to the U.S. to replicate Revyze’s French success. The strategy seemed promising at first, especially with TikTok facing backlash in the U.S. due to content concerns from parents and national security debates among lawmakers. The plan was simple: target the stress-filled exam periods, like the SATs, and offer students a dedicated space to learn.
However, the U.S. market didn’t respond as well as anticipated. Perrot and his team quickly realized that while their app saw increased use during stressful exam periods, users weren’t engaging with it during other times of the school year. The content available on Revyze wasn’t hitting the mark, especially for specific needs like SAT preparation.
“What we learned was that we needed to rework the product before expanding into the U.S. market,” Perrot shared. Simply put, the app’s reliance on exam-driven engagement wasn’t enough for consistent growth.
Reinventing Engagement: From Quick Fixes to Long-Term Learning
Faced with these challenges, the Revyze team went back to the drawing board to rethink their product. The result? A shift from focusing solely on exam preparation to a more well-rounded learning experience. Instead of a steady stream of vertical learning videos that cater to the heightened stress of exams, the app now encourages regular, bite-sized learning.
In this new iteration, Revyze draws inspiration from both TikTok and Duolingo. A new feature, called Capsules, was introduced. Capsules are mini-lessons built around a specific topic, consisting of a series of videos, quizzes, and summary sheets. The structure offers a sense of achievement for users, similar to Duolingo’s step-by-step learning model, where lessons have a clear beginning, middle, and end.
Florent Sciberras, Revyze’s co-founder, explained: “We’ve designed Capsules with the idea that students will use the app regularly, not just when they’re cramming for exams. You unlock a capsule with coins you earn by coming back daily, similar to Duolingo’s streak feature. You also earn coins by completing quizzes, adding a gamified element to the learning experience.”
Empowering Content Creators: Monetization and Engagement
One of the most exciting aspects of Revyze’s new approach is its focus on content creators. The app has introduced a monetization program for its top creators, who can now profit from the Capsules they design. “Let’s say you live in Michigan and have taken your state-specific math exam,” Sciberras said. “You can create content tailored to that exam and earn a portion of the coins users spend on your capsule.”
This model not only benefits creators but also ensures more localized and relevant content for students, which can address one of the initial challenges the app faced in the U.S. – a lack of specific and applicable content for users. The goal is to foster a diverse community of creators, from high-performing students who want to share their knowledge, to teachers who are eager to reach a broader audience.
The Revyze creator community, which gathers periodically at Station F in France, is a melting pot of different backgrounds. “You’ll find a 10th-grader rubbing shoulders with a 45-year-old history teacher,” Sciberras noted, highlighting how the shared goal of helping students learn creates a unique bond between creators.
Looking Forward: Monetization and Scaling
At present, Revyze remains a free app, but the company has future plans to introduce paid features. These might include advanced analytics, personalized learning paths, and faster access to content. However, the startup is still focused on fine-tuning its product-market fit and growing its user base.
With a diverse range of creators and an increasing number of users, Revyze has positioned itself as an innovative player in the educational tech space. The app’s evolution, fueled by lessons learned in both France and the U.S., reflects the team’s adaptability and vision for the future of learning.
By blending the engaging, bite-sized nature of TikTok with the structured, gamified approach of Duolingo, Revyze has carved out a unique space in the education market. As the startup continues to grow, its mission is clear: to make learning not just effective but enjoyable, while helping students across the world learn differently.
