Venture capitalists (vcs) have invested around $21bn into education technology companies in 2021, according to Holon iq, a research firm (see chart).l - 40 times more than a decade ago.
Seventeen ed-tech startups became “unicorns” Half a dozen of them went public. They included Coursera and Duolingo .
Holon iq has predicted that global ed-tech revenues could almost double from $227bn that year to around $400bn in 2025, a fifth higher than its pre-pandemic forecast.
Schools and universities control much of the $6trn spent globally on education each year. They tend to be cash-strapped and conservative. Edtech is only 3pc
For schools - broadband and tablets are the go and lawmakers in America have earmarked an extra $200bn or so for schools since the pandemic started.
Companies that offer after-school lessons—such as Outschool, an American unicorn, and GoStudent, an Austrian one—are growing fast
Adult learning is on the rise - with workers taking online courses that they thought would improve their prospects.
Reskilling job and switching are the go and staff training is seen to be a strong retention tool
Up-and-coming firms include Guild, which helps blue-collar workers at giants such as Walmart and Disney gain new qualifications, and Better Up, an American company that helps professionals find coaching.
Nexttech is a company worth watching
An influx of users and money in the pandemic has given more firms the muscle to expand abroad and to find ways of retaining users for longer, reckons Deborah Quazzo of gsv, a big educational investor.
Take Byju’s. It has spent at least $2.8bn on a dozen acquisitions in an apparent attempt to string together services that will allow it to reach learners of all ages, from toddlers to career-changers - offering online classes in coding and maths to children in America, Brazil, Britain, Indonesia and elsewhere.
Welcome to the Nexttech Revolution
Ed tech
https://www.economist.com/business/2022/02/19/can-the-ed-tech-boom-last
