NEW YORK, July 17, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FE International, Inc., the global market leader in mid-market technology mergers and acquisitions (M&A), announces the strategic acquisition of Smodin, a leading multilingual student-focused company using AI to address students’ largest learning challenges, by Adly, a portfolio operator acquiring, partnering, and working with SaaS, tech, content sites, and startups.
Developed in 2017, Smodin leveraged its internally modeled research and development to stay ahead of the generative AI craze with its own Large Language Models. Smodin serves as a supplemental writing and research tool for students, intended for everyday use and challenging the full integration and use of AI within the education system.
“Smodin was born out of my personal journey as a self-taught engineer. I wanted to create a tool that would empower students the way I wished I had been supported. This passion project evolved into a powerful AI-driven writing assistant that helps students across the globe better navigate their academic challenges,” said Kevin Danikowski, CEO and Founder of Smodin.
This is the third acquisition Adly has made with FE International acquiring Beambox in 2022 followed by Page Flows in 2023. This latest purchase continues to build out their suite of profitable SaaS and tech businesses.
“Investors in edtech are increasingly looking for stable teams with a proven track record. They understand that sustained success in this sector requires not just innovative solutions, but also the experience and reliability to navigate the dynamic educational landscape effectively,” said Fred Chiang, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Adly.
“Smodin perfectly complements Adly's portfolio, aligning with our commitment to innovation and excellence in education technology. Its advanced AI-driven capabilities enhance our offerings, providing students with unparalleled support and reinforcing our position as a leader in the edtech industry,” said Shawn Sheikh, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Adly.
“Our continuing collaboration with Adly underscores the trust and synergy in this partnership. FE International's extensive experience in the edtech sector has been instrumental in facilitating deals like this, enabling us to continue delivering valuable deals for our clients and top-tier educational solutions,“ said Randal Stephenson, the Head of Investment Banking at FE International.
About Adly
With our immense growth and product background, our mission is to acquire companies with untapped potential that we can scale using paid media, SEO, development, and product expertise. We’ve built a team and network of experts that we leverage to take adly portfolio companies to new heights.
For more information, visit www.adly.com
About Smodin
AI is uniquely positioned to remove some of the biggest learning roadblocks facing students and writers today: writer's block, information overload, and conceptual gaps. Smodin is a multilingual student-focused company using AI to address students’ largest learning challenges. Inspired by the biggest challenges students and writers face, Smodin’s mission is to make writing and learning as easy as possible. We at Smodin believe education should be fun and simple. Whether a student struggles with writing, language, or subject difficulty, we give students the tools they need to get the most out of their academic journey.
For more information, visit https://smodin.io
About FE International
Founded in 2010, FE is known for its extensive network of pre-qualified international investors. Its team includes experts in exit planning, valuation, accounting, legal and more. FE serves clients worldwide with headquarters in New York and regional offices in Miami, San Francisco, London, Mumbai, and Warsaw. It was named one of The Americas' Fastest Growing Companies in 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021 and 2020 by The Financial Times and is also a five-time Inc. 5000 company. For more information, visit www.feinternational.com.
