Brilliant.org is an American for-profit company and associated community that features 90+ guided courses in three categories: maths, computer science and science. Brilliant operates via a freemium business model.
History Brilliant was founded in 2012. At the Launch Festival in March 2013, CEO and co-founder Sue Khim presented the idea of Brilliant, attracting funding from venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya. In August 2013, TechCrunch reported that Brilliant.org had secured funding from Palihapitiya's Social+Capital Partnership, as well as from 500 Startups, Kapor Capital, Learn Capital, and Hyde Park Angels. The website boasted over 100,000 users at that time. By April 2019, it had achieved a valuation of $50 million.
Originally, Brilliant hosted a variety of individual puzzles and occasionally monthly challenges. At one point, the individual puzzles included their Problem of the Week, a selection of the 15 best puzzles for the week. By 2025, the focus of the site was on active learning in STEM fields, as opposed to rote learning, and it does not support learning certifications. Further, the platform does not support any individual mentorship, though "courses are curated by industry experts".
As of 2025, the monthly cost was or per annum.
Brilliant.org consists of a ranking system, which begins and ends each week at Sunday 8PM PT / 11PM ET. Each player is placed into a league with 29 other players and can either rank up to the next league, stay in the same league, or be relegated to the previous league.
The leagues are: Hydrogen, Lithium, Carbon, Neon, Titanium, Xenon, Barium, Neodymium, Tungsten, Einsteinium.
Reception
Several publications have noted Brilliant for its success in identifying gifted students. Commonly cited examples include Farrell Wu from the Philippines, Full text available via Archived version. Dylan Toh of Singapore,Full text available via Archived URL. and Phoebe Cai of the United States.
Brilliant regularly contributes math and science puzzles to publications such as The New York Times, The Guardian, and FiveThirtyEight. Brilliant has also been cited by The Atlantic as a catalyst of the "math revolution" - a surge in the number of American teens excelling at math.Full text available via Archive URL.
In 2013, Brilliant co-founder and CEO Sue Khim was listed among the Forbes 30 under 30 for the Education category for her work on Brilliant.
Acquisition In December 2022, Brilliant acquired Hellosaurus, a software and entertainment company that distributes interactive programming for kids from various children's creators such as The Wiggles, and Kids Diana.
See also Wikiversity Khan Academy Skillshare List of online educational resources
References
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