McGraw Hill Education was once a publishing company, but now considers itself to be a learning science company. Apollo Global Management, a private equity firm, acquired McGraw Hill Education in 2013. In 2012 McGraw Hill Education launched its LearnSmart adaptive learning technology. In 2013 the company launched an adapted e-book called SmartBook. In 2013 and 2014, respectively, the company acquired two intelligent tutor companies: ALEKS and Area9 (“Global publishing leaders,” 2015; “About McGraw Hill Education,” n.d.).