Was the dual-screen design actually better for studying than an iPad?

For textbook reading and note-taking specifically, the dual-screen format was genuinely useful — one screen for the textbook, one for notes. But "better for one specific task" was not enough to justify the price premium and ecosystem limitations against a device students also used for everything else in their lives.

What happened to Kno's software after the Intel acquisition?

Intel used Kno's technology for its education platform but the standalone Kno app was eventually discontinued. The team was integrated into Intel's education division, which itself was later scaled back as Intel's education initiatives lost momentum.

Could a purpose-built education device ever win against consumer tablets?

The challenge is structural: consumer tablet makers benefit from scale economies that education-specific device makers cannot match. The only education hardware that has succeeded at scale is Chromebooks, and they succeeded by being cheap general-purpose devices rather than education-specific ones.

← All autopsies

// HALL OF FLAME · STARTUP AUTOPSY

Founded	2009
Closed	2013
Country	USA
Sector	Edtech
Total raised	60
Collapse type	Acqui-hire
Founder	Osman Rashid, Babur Habib

Kno

"The $60M education tablet that tried to replace the college backpack and found the iPad had already won"

$60M

RAISED

—

EMPLOYEES

MONTHS

competitionAcqui-hire

// Fatal mistake: Kno bet $60M on purpose-built education hardware just as Apple made the general-purpose consumer tablet market too price-efficient, ecosystem-rich, and well-distributed for any vertical device to compete.

Key Events Timeline

2009

FOUNDING

2009-01

FOUNDING

Kno founded

2010

FUNDING

2011

CRISIS

2011-06

PIVOT

Strategic pivot under pressure

2013

SHUTDOWN

2013-06

ACQUISITION ATTEMPT

Acqui-hire: Kno ceases operations

🔥 Hall of Flame 40%🏆 Hall of Fame 35%

Kno was founded in 2009 by Osman Rashid and Babur Habib, the team behind Chegg, with a compelling thesis: college students carry backpacks full of heavy, expensive textbooks, and a purpose-built digital device could replace all of them.

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More Edtech →More from USA →More competition failures →Raised: 60

// YOUR STARTUP DOESN'T HAVE TO END LIKE THIS

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// THE EDTECH GRAVEYARD DOESN'T END HERE

Kno followed a documented pattern. Identify the same signals in any company before they reach the point of no return.

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