Amazon.com (AMZN) Said Planning to Launch Education Platform

Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) is planning to launch a free platform for educators as it looks to diversify its revenue stream and better position itself among consumers.

TechCrunch said Friday that Amazon Education quietly opened an “Amazon Education Wait List" earlier this month. The platform will allow educators to upload, manage, and share educational materials. It will be based around open educational resources (OER).

Amazon's move comes following the acquisition of TenMarks, an online math instruction company, in 2013. While Amazon continued to operate the company, it hasn't played a major role up until recent.

As education becomes more important (and costly), many major tech companies are moving into the segment, including Apple and Google. There are also a slew of third-party companies which work with schools to host platforms for digital content and discussion, which has paved the way for virtual learning over the years. Names like BlackBoard, Canvas, and Box (NYSE: BOX) have all been integral in this development.

It wasn't made clear when Amazon Education will launch or how far along beta testing has come.

Amazon has offered e-books on its site for some time, coinciding with the release of its Kindle e-readers and Fire tablets. The company is familiar with the segment and may try to work in further hardware sales along with hosting educational content, though that is just pure speculation on our part.

Shares of Amazon are up 1 percent.

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