The new micro-learning platform Uptime recently received a serious boost of $16 million in seed funding. It presents five-minute knowledge hacks derived from courses, documentaries, and books. The idea behind the app is to let users quickly gain insight from the creative minds, authors, and instructors they trust and without spending much of their precious time. Content creators could also use the app as new means to reach their audiences with short presentations of their full work.
Uptime Will Allow Its Users to Get the Original Source of Each Knowledge Hack
According to the creators of Uptime, it presents hacks in a unique visual story format that is designed to be inspirational and should make learning effective, engaging, fun, and shareable. Apparently, the knowledge hacks of the app will also be verified by experts. The end of each Hack gives the user an option to buy the original source.
The founders of Uptime are the serial entrepreneurs Jack Bekhor and Jamie True and the former Facebook and YouTube executive, Patrick Walker. Other investors include Sir Terry Leahy, Lord David Alliance, and Federal Street SPV. Patrick Walker recently said in an interview that with people spending a lot on watching documentaries and online courses, Uptime gives a huge opportunity to these kinds of content creators while allowing its users to find their work without having to sift through an oversaturated market.
The Goal for Uptime Is to Become a One-stop Shop for Knowledge
Uptime is supposed to present only the best content from the most trusted experts and sources. People will be able to choose the topics in which they have an interest, unlocking the key elements of the content in easy-to-absorb video, audio, and text. According to the app’s founders, Uptime targets people who want to learn but have a short amount of time and resources to do so. Its goal is to also offer constructive and uplifting content.
Some have criticized the app for being a parasitic aggregator that monetizes other people’s work — its founders, however, have argued that it actually helps deliver new audiences to content creators by providing a small taste of their work.