Infobase Named to TIME's World's Top EdTech Companies of 2026
NEW YORK, July 30, 2026 /CNW/ -- Infobase today announced it has been named to TIME's World's Top EdTech Companies of 2026, produced in partnership with Statista. The list scored more than 6,500 education technology companies worldwide on financial strength and industry impact, and recognized the top 500. Infobase ranked in the top half globally.
"Being named among TIME's top EdTech companies, on a global stage, means something to me because of where I've been before. Years ago, I watched technology take something teachers were already doing well and make it possible at a scale no teacher could manage alone. I think we're at the same moment with libraries. I see the absence of information literacy constantly, in smart, confident people who can't back up an opinion with anything real. Librarians know how. They've quietly mastered this skill for generations, and what Infobase is building is a way to scale that mastery within reach of every classroom."
-- Bill Rieders, Chief Executive Officer, Infobase
TIME opens its coverage of the list on an optimistic note, citing a 2025 UNESCO report that shows global literacy rates climbing steadily over the past decade. However, UNESCO measures basic literacy skills–reading and writing–and admits its statistics "do not include the numeracy and specific literacy skills required in digital societies."
While basic literacy is on the rise, information literacy–which requires more complex cognitive skills–is under strain. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) 2023 Survey of Adult Skills, 26% of adults across OECD countries scored at or below Level 1 in literacy -- meaning they struggle with basic comprehension of written information.
Infobase's product line is built around that gap: subject databases, streaming video, and research skill-building tools designed to extend what a librarian can do for the learners they support.
"Libraries have always been the infrastructure of human knowledge -- ensuring that those who need it can find it, evaluate it, and use it wisely. That mission hasn't changed, and Infobase has been proud to support this work for 85 years," Rieders said. "Every university, school district and library system demonstrates that this mission is worth continuing."
TIME and Statista built the list by scoring companies on two factors: financial strength and industry impact. Statista gathered data through desk research, direct submissions from companies, and its own data partnerships, then scored each company against those two dimensions to arrive at a final ranking. More than 6,500 companies worldwide were evaluated.
The list of the World's Top EdTech Companies draws from a broad cross-section of the sector: consumer learning apps, adaptive tutoring platforms, workforce training software, and K-12 curriculum providers, among others. Within that field, library-facing companies are a small minority -- Infobase is one of the only two companies on the list built specifically to serve libraries. Of the two, Infobase is the only one organized specifically around information literacy.
About Infobase
Infobase is an information literacy solutions provider serving K–12 schools and districts, colleges and universities, public libraries, and employers. Through an integrated suite of databases, streaming video, eBook collections, and educator tools, Infobase helps students, patrons, and professionals build the durable skills needed to discover, evaluate, and apply knowledge with confidence. Eighty-five years of editorial excellence inform trusted brands -- including Facts on File, Learn360, Credo Reference, Films on Demand, The Mailbox®, The World Almanac, Vault, and Bloom's -- through modern, curriculum-aligned platforms. For more information, visit infobase.com.
SOURCE Infobase
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