Epic! is an American kids subscription-based reading and learning platform. It offers access to books and videos targeted at children ages 12 and under. The service can be used on desktop and mobile devices. Epic! was founded in 2013 by Suren Markosian and Kevin Donahue and launched in 2014. Indian educational technology company

Byju's Byju's (stylised as BYJU'S) is an Indian multinational educational technology company, headquartered in Bengaluru. It was founded in 2011 by Byju Raveendran and Divya Gokulnath. As of October 2024, various media outlets reported that Byju's v ...

acquired Epic! in July 2021 in a cash and stock deal worth $500 million. On January 25, 2024, lenders began bankruptcy proceedings against Epic's parent company Byju's in an effort to repay its loans. On February 1, 2024, Byju's U.S. division filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

in Delaware. Byju's would raise around $200 million in an effort to clear "immediate liabilities" and for other operational costs.

Content

Books are available in read-to-me and

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sch ...

formats and include both

non-fiction Non-fiction (or nonfiction) is any document or content (media), media content that attempts, in good faith, to convey information only about the real life, real world, rather than being grounded in imagination. Non-fiction typically aims to pre ...

and

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...

titles, covering subjects and themes such as:

STEM Stem or STEM most commonly refers to: * Plant stem, a structural axis of a vascular plant * Stem group * Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Stem or STEM can also refer to: Language and writing * Word stem, part of a word respon ...

language arts English studies (or simply, English) is an academic discipline taught in primary, secondary, and post-secondary education in English-speaking countries. This is not to be confused with English taught as a foreign language, which is a distin ...

social science Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among members within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the ...

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

and DIY. Titles and series include ''

BIG NATE ''Big Nate'' (stylized as ''big NATE'' in the List of Big Nate collections, comic collections and ''BiG NATE'' in the Big Nate#Book series, books) is an American comic strip written and illustrated by Lincoln Peirce, syndicated since January ...

'', ''

Garfield ''Garfield'' is an American comic strip created by Jim Davis (cartoonist), Jim Davis. Originally published locally as ''Jon'' in 1976 (later changed to ''Garfield'' in 1977), then in nationwide Print syndication, syndication from 1978, it chro ...

'', ''

Warriors A warrior is a guardian specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracy, class, or caste. History Warriors seem to have been p ...

'' and ''

The Chronicles of Narnia ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' is a series of seven portal fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, the series is set in the fictional realm of Narnia (wor ...

'' series. Books are available in English, French,

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

, Chinese, and includes

bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...

options. The Epic! app offers personalized recommendations based on a child's reading level and interest. Users can search for books, videos and quizzes on Epic! based on age, keyword and reading levels.

Publishing network

As of February 2024, Epic! had 250 publisher and video provider partners, including

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

, Macmillan,

Candlewick Candlewick may refer to: *Candle wick, a part of a candle or oil lamp *Candlewick, a style of glassware made by the Imperial Glass Company * Candlewick (fabric), a thick, soft cotton fabric *Candlewick, an element in financial candlestick charts ...

National Geographic Kids ''National Geographic Kids'' (often nicknamed to ''Nat Geo Kids'') is a children's magazine published by National Geographic Partners. In a broad sense, the publication is a version of ''National Geographic'', the publisher's flagship magazine, ...

Smithsonian Enterprises The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, education and research centers, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded on August 10, 1846, it operates as a trus ...

and

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

. Epic! is a member of

publishing industry Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

trade groups, including: the Children's Book Council, the

Independent Book Publishers Association The Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) is a not-for-profit membership organization serving the independent publishing community through advocacy and education. With over 3,500 members, IBPA is the largest publishing trade association i ...

, the Educational Book & Media Association and the

Audio Publishers Association The Audio Publishers Association (APA) is the first and only not-for-profit trade organization of the audiobook industry in the United States. Its mission is to "advocate the common, collective business interests of audio publishers." Membership is ...

Recognition

* 2016 Best App for Teaching and Learning; and The Best Website for Teaching and Learning (The

American Association of School Librarians The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) is a division of the American Library Association (ALA) that has more than 7,000 members and serves primary school and secondary school librarians in the U.S., Canada, and even internationally. P ...

References

{{Reflist, 30em Subscription services Virtual learning environments American educational websites Internet properties established in 2013 2013 establishments in California Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2024 Companies based in Redwood City, California Children's entertainment Byju's 2021 mergers and acquisitions