E-Textbook Publisher Inkling Secures Major Investment from McGraw-Hill and Pearson

Inkling, a San Francisco-based company that publishes textbooks for multi-touch devices such as the iPad, has secured significant minority investments from McGraw-Hill and Pearson, the two largest educational content providers in the world. According to an Inkling press release, "The investment signals a major endorsement from the publishing industry for the Inkling platform as a leader in the rapid shift to digital textbooks."

Both publishers also have committed to build interactive editions of their top titles for the Inkling platform. Inkling already works with other trade and higher education publishers, including John Wiley & Sons, W. W. Norton and Wolters Kluwer.

"Until now, digital textbooks have failed to gain real traction because they add little value over the printed book," says Matt MacInnis, Inkling's founder and CEO. "But Inkling is different. We build every textbook from the ground up for iPad to create a more engaging learning experience. We're thrilled that McGraw-Hill and Pearson are bringing the world's best learning content to the Inkling platform."

Textbooks on Inkling's platform include features such as interactivity, quizzes, search and annotation tools, and the ability to buy by the chapter.

"Creating an interactive, higher-value e-book experience for students is central to our strategy at McGraw-Hill," says Vineet Madan, vice president, McGraw-Hill Learning Ecosystems. "We are excited to deepen our relationship with Inkling as we seek to broaden the educational tools and content available on iPad and other mobile devices."

"Inkling gives us a chance to introduce 'from scratch' interactivity into the educational experience," says Gary June, chief global marketing officer at Pearson. "This is a critical part of our efforts to leverage next-generation devices in new ways that will improve performance and retention."