Overview
Knowable produced audio courses for people who wanted to learn while walking, commuting or doing other tasks. Its lessons combined expert voices with structured course material and companion resources. Medium acquired the company in 2021. The Knowable website now says the service is no longer operational, but does not give a shutdown date. [1] [4] [6]
The company tried to make education fit a listening habit usually served by podcasts. Its main challenge was to make a paid, produced course valuable enough beside free audio while sustaining the cost of making and licensing lessons.
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Founding Story
Warren Shaeffer and Alex Benzer built Knowable around audio-first learning. In October 2019 the company launched three initial courses and announced a $4 million seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz, with Upfront Ventures, Initialized Capital and First Round Capital participating. The launch materials described a team with experience in audio, publishing and online education. [1] [2]
The first courses included Launch a Startup, hosted by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, and Start a Podcast, with creators and audio producers. Ohanian was also an early investor, a relationship readers should know when considering his endorsement. [1]
Timeline
- October 2019: Knowable launched its audio learning platform and announced a $4 million seed round. [1]
- October 2020: Knowable moved to a $9.99 monthly subscription, alongside a curated marketplace for outside courses. [2]
- November 2021: Medium acquired Knowable; the founders said the product would initially remain standalone. [4]
- Later: The Knowable site states that the service is no longer operational. It does not specify when the service ended. [6]
What They Built
A course was organized as a sequence of audio lessons rather than a single podcast episode. The 2019 launch described long-form instruction, written summaries, downloadable materials and private student communities, delivered through mobile and web apps. Andreessen Horowitz described courses that combined multiple expert voices around a shared topic. [1] [3]
By 2020 Knowable was mixing its own produced content with a marketplace. Its team worked with selected experts on lessons. At acquisition, TechCrunch reported more than 100 courses and a creator arrangement sharing 30% of quarterly revenue and 30% of referred memberships. That reporting describes the terms at that time, not a complete statement of every creator's earnings. [2] [5]
Market Position
Target Customers
Knowable aimed at people seeking personal and professional learning during time away from a screen. It also served experts who wanted production help turning their knowledge into audio. Both audiences mattered: a subscription library needed attractive courses, and course creators needed listeners and a share of revenue. [1] [5]
Market Size
The number of podcast listeners is not the number willing to pay for structured courses. The available sources do not disclose Knowable's paying subscriber count, retention, course completion rates or a defensible estimate of its specific market.
Competition
Free podcasts competed for listening time. Audiobooks, online courses and other subscription learning services also offered knowledge in different formats. Knowable's distinction was the combination of a structured course, multiple voices and professional production. The available record does not show that this format created a durable advantage over those alternatives. [3]
Business Model
Knowable moved to a $9.99-per-month subscription in 2020. The library combined company-produced courses with outside material, and the company shared a portion of revenue with participating creators. Course creation and editorial work required spending before the company knew how many listeners would finish or remain subscribed. Those are features of the model; the sources do not disclose Knowable's unit costs or prove they caused the eventual shutdown. [2] [5]
Traction
At the time of acquisition the founders said the library contained more than 1,000 audio-first lessons. That is a catalog measure, not a count of listeners, completed courses or profitable subscriptions. TechCrunch reported more than 100 courses. The sources do not disclose the platform's financial performance. [4] [5]
Outcome and evolution
Medium acquired Knowable in November 2021. The team joined Medium to support audio initiatives, and the founders initially said Knowable would continue as a standalone product. The current Knowable site says it is no longer operational. These statements describe different points in time; the site does not identify the shutdown date or explain the decision. [4] [5] [6]
Key Lessons
- Design for the medium. A sequence of lessons with several expert voices gave audio a structure distinct from a single podcast episode.
- A catalog is not retention. Course and lesson counts do not show how often people learn or keep paying.
- Production is part of the business model. Expert sourcing, editing and creator payments must fit the price of the subscription.
- Track post-acquisition changes. A product can initially remain standalone and later become unavailable.
Sources
- Knowable launch and funding announcement, October 1, 2019.
- TechCrunch: Knowable's subscription model, October 15, 2020.
- Andreessen Horowitz: Knowable and audio startups, October 1, 2019.
- Knowable founders: acquisition by Medium, November 16, 2021.
- TechCrunch: Medium acquires Knowable, November 16, 2021.
- Knowable: current service notice, accessed November 2026.