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Introduction to Edtech and Learning
Edtech and Learning have been an eye-catching and hot sector for many years after Coursera and Udemy caught the eye of venture capital. Their success unleashed the creativity of entrepreneurs for a sector that could use the internet to provide the resources and structure, which many of us in school can take for granted, for those with extraordinary circumstances to succeed in their studies and go beyond to pursue their dreams. This can come in the form of upskilling or building a skills foundation not available in their local school to reach university.
Edtech and learning have an outsized role in social good that has multipliers of returns that investors have been keen on capturing and continue to do so.
Despite the recent funding slump in 2023, edtech and learning continue to receive large funding rounds; however, this also creates a more competitive environment with each startup attempting to differentiate themselves from the others to attractive potential investors in pre-seed or seed rounds. Fujn has curated a list of the top five potential edtech and learning startups that have received funding between 2022 to 2024.
Disclaimer: This list was chosen based on a combination of funding, approach, and innovation within the edtech and learning space and is in no way intended to render judgement on the value of these startups.
These are the top 5 startups we believe are changing the Edtech and Learning market:
- Subject
- Educatly
- Aanaab
- Kinnu
- Modal Learning
1. Subject
Subject is a virtual school targeted towards high school students in the United States based in Los Angeles, California. It is designed to be an on-demand e-learning platform to assist students with instructor support and gain accreditation that is recognized by post-secondary institutions, such as the University of California system.
Subject describes itself as a Netflix-like experience that can help students with bilingual learning or offer AP classes not available in their district as well as bring a platform, which fits the digitalized environment that most current and future students will likely be immersed in already.
Subject, which was previously known as Emile Learning, raised $5.3 million in seed funding in 2021 with investors from Softbank Opportunity Fund, Uber, and Teachable. In 2022, Emile Learning rebranded to Subject and went to Series A with a total raise of $29.4 million that was led by Owl Ventures to tackle the recovering state of education post-COVID.
2. Educatly
Educatly is a startup focused on student recruitment and providing a marketplace for international students that want to study abroad in higher education. Educatly helps facilitate a network where communities of students can search for higher education opportunities and prevent barriers to entry that were there previously using digital solutions.
Students can specifically find the area of study they want to pursue as well as where they want to go to pursue this. This platform serves as a hub for universities and students to connect and act through a trusted partner coupled with a network of student ambassadors that can help prospective and future students across the world. This provides a LinkedIn experience for students that can help both their learning and future career, which allows a head-start for them compared to their peers that go through the traditional route.
Founded in 2020 with a $1 million raise pre-seed round in 2021 that included Enterprise Ireland and Falak Startups, Educatly has secured $2.5 million in a new raise and is targeting MENA to expand their operations. This shows a trend and hunger for learning and edtech within the region as investment remains robust and demand is high.
3. Aanaab
Aanaab is a startup from Saudi Arabia is on a mission to revamp pedagogy by enabling teachers to develop a toolset through upskilling and skills development to better support their students or start teaching overseas. Aanaab started in 2016 and received $1.5 million in their seed round from Wamda, Nour Nouf, and angel seed investors.
Since then, they have been able to reach millions of teachers and partner with 11 governments in MENA to use their large library of resources and provide the training, certifications, and gain accredited professional licenses. Another aspect would be the blog and webinars that provide guidelines outside of the courses and certificates that greatly enhance the experience for teachers and those that want to sharpen their skills to create an immersive experience that puts material into context.
Recently, Aanaab has received an undisclosed investment and partnered with Rethink Education, a VC that specializes in Edtech, to support its growth in modernizing MENA’s pedagogical landscape.
4. Kinnu
Kinnu is a generative AI edtech startup based in the UK that has a unique approach to learning with its mobile gamification focus targeted towards Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Learning is not tied to a single subject area like Duolingo, although both try to teach using progression similar to that of a video game with mastery and achievements to track a user’s progress. These subjects can range from AI to Philosophy to even Film Theory.
Kinnu had raised a pre-seed round of $2.4 million in 2022 and raised $6.5 million from seed round in 2023 with Cavalry Ventures and LocalGlobe with a diverse array of angel investors that saw the potential of the intuitive role of generative AI with the teaching approach for users.
5. Modal Learning
Modal Learning is a platform that focuses on technology upskilling. Modal utilizes principles taken from agile project management, such as sprints and cohort collaboration that separates key ideas in a modular and interactive setting. The founders are from Udemy and wanted to iterate on that successful model by providing a more hands-on experience with labs and live sessions with experts very similar to teaching assistants and the university experience.
Modal provides content that is centered around generative artificial intelligence and data manipulation and reading. Learning these subjects is curated for individuals that are identified by their gaps or proficiency level and creates a tailored experience for that person.
Modal Learning had a venture round in 2022 that had raised $6.7 million with many venture capital firms, such as Learn Capital and Signalfire, to create a personalized learning experience for data-related subjects. Modal in 2024 continued with a Series A that raised $25 million with several venture capital firms returning to back Modal Learning to continue on their path to growth.
Conclusion
Given the diverse range of use-cases and target users demonstrated with these 5 promising startups, the edtech and learning sector continues to evolve and attract significant attention, despite recent funding challenges. These five startups: Subject, Educatly, Aanaab, Kinnu, and Modal exemplify the diverse and innovative approaches being taken to address various aspects of education and skill development from a digital first perspective.
From virtual high schools and teacher upskilling to AI-powered gamified mobile learning, these startups are pushing the boundaries of education. Their success in securing funding demonstrates the ongoing faith investors have in the vision of edtech that can disrupt the traditional education space as it has done in the past decade and will most likely continue to do so.
As the edtech landscape continues to evolve, these innovative startups are not only addressing current educational challenges but also paving the way for a more accessible, personalized, and effective learning experience that has the potential to transform education worldwide.
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