📰 Issue #01: Simplilearn bags $45M, Amazon shuts down online learning platform, Indonesia used edtech to add 14M jobs
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This is our first issue on Edtech Asia. Since this is the pilot one, I’ve collected news for the month of November. If you find this useful, please help me grow the community of readers by sharing it with your friends, family, neighbors, and even to your pets and ex-es. ✌️ If you haven’t joined yet, please do so. 👇🏼 Welcome again!
💰 Notable Raises
list of edtech startups in Asia that raise funds from venture capital firms and angel investors
Simplilearn bags $45M led by GSV Ventures! Simplilearn has a total funding amount of $320M and will use its fresh funds to accelerate growth across the globe. They are one of the biggest Bootcamp and certificate training providers with a headquarter in India. - India 🇮🇳
Saasguru scores $4M led by Square Peg Capital. Saasfocus’s ex-founders are making a comeback with Saasguru! After raising their pre-seed of $1.3M 10 months ago, Saasguru team bagged a seed round of $4M by disrupting the SaaS market with a personalized learning experience. -Australia 🇦🇺
ClassMonitor raises ₹10 Cr in Pre-Series A. ClassMonitor is aiming to invest in AI-ML-based technology to strengthen their learning and assessment model & to help individualize their offerings for young learners based on gamified evaluation of learning progress. -India 🇮🇳
AlmaBetter secures $2.7M. Another upskilling platform from India—AlmaBetter will use the fresh funds to expand courses for college students and strengthen its offering for graduates and working professionals. They offer top-notch skills such as data science, software development, and blockchain. -India 🇮🇳
Rootopia secures $1M. A Vietnam-based fintech startup secures its pre-seed funds from Genesia ventures, ThinkZone venture, and BK fund. For context, education is highly-valued in Vietnam where families spend almost half of their income just to give their children a better education. Because of the demand, tuition fees increase up to 10% per year, and Rootopia is here to help parents to fund their children’s school fees by connecting them with angel investors. -Vietnam 🇻🇳
🤦♀️ Layoffs & Shutdowns
list of edtech startups, institutions, and education companies that lay off employees and close down their companies due to economic reasons.
Amazon shuts down online learning platform in India. Amazon officially launched Amazon Academy early last year to help students prepare for entry into the nation’s prestigious engineering colleges. After almost two years, they are closing the Academy. Amazon didn’t confirm the reason however, one of its partners said the decision was part of ongoing cost-cutting measures. See Amazon’s latest news in their plans to lay off 20k of their employees. -India 🇮🇳
Ruangguru lays off hundreds of employees. This Indonesian startup decided to lay off their employees due to the “drastically worsening global market situation.” - Indonesia 🇮🇩
If you want to track layoffs across Asia’s startup ecosystem, here’s a layoff tracker for TechInAsia subscribers.
🧐 Insights, Reads, Opinions
hottest topics, insights, and good reads about education & technology that are insightful 😉 enjoy reading with your fave coffee ☕ or your flavored popcorn 🍿
Find out how Indonesia used Edtech to add 14M jobs during the pandemic - a story from WEF. WEF said, “By 2025, 85 million jobs will have been displaced by a shift in the division of labor between machines and humans, but 97 million new roles will emerge. Weathering this transition will be a challenge for every country.” In this article, WEF tells the story of how the Indonesian government empowers unemployed and low-income citizens through a local program for upskilling and financial inclusion. - Indonesia 🇮🇩
Announcement of Metaverse Education Alliance (MEA) - a global initiative to federate Web3 & Metaverse. What is MEA? It aims to promote cooperation among leading Web3 and Metaverse Edtech operators and stakeholders. The initiative will focus on “repositioning the Asian market as the next global hotspot for Web3 and Metaverse education.” The MetaExpo Singapore forum reported the projection of 70-150 million talents should realize the Metaverse by 2030. And by doing this, Web3 education is the prerequisite. - Singapore 🇸🇬
Vietnam ranks 5th among International Students in the US. In the middle of decreasing numbers of US college applications, Vietnam went from 6th place to now--5th largest international students in the US. -Vietnam 🇻🇳
How huge is India’s Education Industry? Some interesting facts from the article:
India pipped the UK to become the fifth-largest economy in the world during the last quarter of 2021.
The overall Indian education market is projected to be worth US$225 billion by FY 2024-25, showing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14 percent as per a 2021 report.
India has the world’s second-largest schooling system with over 1.5 million schools and nearly 250 million enrollments
India’s higher education system has the third largest enrollment after China and the United States.
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