Medium Acquires Knowable: Expanding into Audio Content

Medium Completes Third Acquisition of 2021: Knowable

Medium has announced the acquisition of Knowable, marking its third and final acquisition for the year. Knowable is an audio-based learning platform that provides courses in a podcast-like format.

Knowable's Unique Offering

The platform features educational content created by prominent experts. These include Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit, NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, and renowned food journalist Mark Bittman.

Medium's Acquisition Strategy

This acquisition follows Medium’s earlier purchases of Projector, a graphic design tool for browsers, and Glose, a social reading application for books. These moves demonstrate Medium’s diversification strategy.

Expanding into Audio Education

With the growth of both podcasting and live audio, Knowable will enable Medium to better serve individuals interested in audio-based learning. This positions Medium to capitalize on a burgeoning market.

Leadership Transition

Warren Shaeffer, Knowable’s co-founder, will be joining Medium as the Vice President of Audio. The entire Knowable team will also be transitioning to Medium.

Future Collaboration

Shaeffer indicated that collaborative efforts between the Medium and Knowable teams are already underway. Further details regarding these initiatives are expected to be revealed in early 2022.

Benefits for Creators

According to Shaeffer, Knowable provides experts and thought leaders, including those already contributing to Medium, with a straightforward method to introduce a new, revenue-generating format for their work.

Positioning Between Existing Formats

Knowable lessons occupy a unique space between the fleeting nature of social audio and the intensive production demands of podcasts and audiobooks. The platform simplifies the production process for creators.

Knowable's History and Pricing

Launched in 2019, Knowable secured funding from Andreessen Horowitz, Upfront, First Round, and Initialized. Originally priced at $9.99 per month, access to over 100 courses is now available for $25 annually as part of an acquisition promotion.

Future Integration

While Knowable will initially remain a separate platform, there is potential for its inclusion in future Medium subscription packages.

Addressing a Core Listener Need

Shaeffer emphasized that a primary motivation for podcast listening is the desire for knowledge acquisition. Knowable and Medium are jointly developing a new audio experience to address this need for both content creators and listeners.

Course Creation and Revenue Sharing

Knowable accepts applications from experts to develop courses. Accepted creators collaborate with the Knowable team throughout the course development process.

Revenue sharing is structured as 30% of quarterly revenue and 30% of all referred memberships, distributed to the creators.