Below is a Market Map summary of the online ED TECH landscape. I’ve selected CBINSIGHTS, a highly reputable analytic group, which released the ED TECH MARKET MAP in June of 2017. I think of particular interest is the following:
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All market segments pertain to online ED TECH.
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14 market segments are identified.
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Below the MARKET MAP is a summary description of that particular segment to help understand key differentiators.
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Below this, is a summary of investment capital into each of the companies, within each of the segments.
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Investment capital into these segments indicate hot zones of interest.
CBINSIGHTS notes the most well-funded companies include iTutorGroup, EverFi and HotChalk, raising US$315M, US$251M and US$249.15M, respectively, which are in the language learning and broad online learning segments. One of the newest emerging segments is Classroom Engagement, currently displaying TopHat (post-secondary) and nearpod (K-12). Classroom engagement focuses on online curriculum or other resources designed to reduce boredom, enhance student achievement. Classroom engagement solutions can include many other subsets of ED TECH including, customization/personalised learning, adaptive learning, augmented reality, game-based learning, blended learning, and more.
Below, as reported by CBINSIGHTS (June 2017)
Some of the most well-funded companies on our list include iTutorGroup, EverFi, and HotChalk.
We used CB Insights data to identify 90+ of the most well-funded private companies working specifically on ed tech and divided them into the 14 main categories in which they operate.
We define ed tech startups as those working to replace or supplement traditional education systems for both students and professionals. Companies on the list offer solutions ranging from exam grading software to online learning platforms to secondary education systems that offer alternatives to traditional schooling. Scroll down to see the full list of companies in the graphic.
MARKET MAP
Click on the image below to enlarge. Not all of the categories in our map are mutually exclusive. This market map is not meant to be exhaustive of companies in the space.
Our map illustrates the following ed tech categories:
Broad Online Learning: This category includes perhaps the most widely known companies like Coursera, Udemy, and Udacity, which host educational content covering subjects ranging from traditional math and science topics to photography and music production.
Learning Management Systems: Companies like Schoology and Huivo offer software platforms that improve student-teacher-parent relationships, monitor student progress, track assignments, share content, and provide online discussion boards.
Career Development: Companies like Fullbridge and Simplilearn Solutions provide enterprises and individuals with educational content for professional advancement, including financial training. The most well-funded company in this category is Pluralsight, which is best known for its online software and creative development courses.
Early Childhood Education: Companies like Speakaboos and Kidaptive create educational games and toys for small children, including interactive storybooks and educational mobile apps. This category also includes Osmo, one of the few ed tech companies that uses artificial intelligence and has raised significant funding.
Language Learning: Companies like iTutorGroup and Vipkid facilitate English-learning students in China, while companies like Duolingo offer multiple languages and cater to more diverse customers. iTutorGroup is one of the most well-funded companies in ed tech with over $300M in total funding.
Tech Learning: Similar to startups that provide platforms for broad online learning, companies like Galvanize and littleBits understand and cater specifically to teaching programming and other engineering disciplines.
Study Tools: Companies like Xuebajun and Knowbox provide study tools that use technology to solidify and/or expedite the learning process. Xuebajun is the most-well funded company in this category, and it provides an online service that explains assignments to students.
Course Materials: Most companies in this category, like LightSail Education, operate online marketplaces for textbooks and other course materials. Also included in this category is the company Newsela, which converts news stories into digestible content for younger students.
School Administration: Companies like Parchment and Examity are simplifying the process of administering schools by digitizing transcripts and exam proctoring, respectively. Others provides software that allow parents to track performance, or allow schools to connect to other schools at the district, state, and national levels.
Next-Gen School: Companies like AltSchool and Quad Learning offer alternatives to traditional education experiences. Altschool has opened multiple schools around the country, which aim to personalize education by tailoring curriculums and adjusting to each student’s learning style. India-based Cuemath offers a supplementary school for mathematics.
Learning Analytics: Companies like Echo360 and Civitas Learning collect data on student performance and use predictive analytics to personalize education experiences. These companies often provide other education services along with analytics; for example, Echo360 aims to make classrooms more collaborative by combining video, engagement, and analytics into one unified experience.
Test Prep: Companies like Xiaozhan Jiaoyu and Revolution Prep focus on providing solutions to students preparing for standardized tests such as the SAT, GRE, and GMAT.
Classroom Engagement: Companies like Top Hat and Nearpod offer products that make classroom experiences more engaging to students. Top Hat provides web- and mobile-based software that allows professors to administer interactive homework and receive real-time feedback from students, while Nearpod offers an all-in-one solution for the synchronized use of mobile devices in the classroom. Top Hat recently raised a $7.5M Series C round with Leaders Fund.
Online to Offline: Companies like Entstudy and Varsity Tutors offer platforms for students to find face-to-face, offline tutoring.
SEE THE FULL COMPANY LIST BELOW:
| Company | Total Funding ($M) | Select Investors | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| EverFi | $251 | Eric Schmidt, Evan Williams, Jeff Bezos, New Enterprise Associates, Silicon Valley Bank | Broad Online Learning |
| HotChalk | $249.15 | McGraw-Hill Ventures, Meriwether Capital, NBC News | Broad Online Learning |
| Yuanfudao | $244.2 | Matrix Partners China, Tencent Holdings, Warburg Pincus | Broad Online Learning |
| Coursera | $210.1 | Caltech, GSV Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Learn Capital, New Enterprise Associates, University of Pennsylvania | Broad Online Learning |
| Udemy | $173 | 500 Startups, Insight Venture Partners, Learn Capital, Stripes Group | Broad Online Learning |
| BYJU’s | $170 | Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Lightspeed India Partners, Sequoia Capital India | Broad Online Learning |
| Udacity | $161.1 | Andreessen Horowitz, Google Ventures | Broad Online Learning |
| Xingshuai Teach | $78.4 | China Minsheng Investment, Legend Capital, Northern Light Venture Capital | Broad Online Learning |
| MasterClass | $56.4 | Bloomberg Beta, New Enterprise Associates | Broad Online Learning |
| creativeLIVE | $54.5 | Comcast Ventures, Google Ventures, Greylock Partners, Jared Leto, Social Capital, Tim Ferris | Broad Online Learning |
| Genshuixue | $50 | Banyan Capital, GP Capital, QF Capital | Broad Online Learning |
| Brainly | $24.5 | General Catalyst, Learn Capital, Naspers | Broad Online Learning |
| Skillshare | $22.75 | BoxGroup, David TischSpark Capital, SV Angel, Union Square Ventures | Broad Online Learning |
| Coorpacademy | $15 | Debiopharm Investment, Serena Capital | Broad Online Learning |
| Descomplica | $13.27 | 500 Startups, Social Capital | Broad Online Learning |
| Pluralsight | $238.67 | ICONIQ Capital, Insight Venture Partners, Rethink Education | Career Development |
| General Assembly | $119.17 | Bezos Expeditions, Learn Capital, New York City Economic Development Corporation | Career Development |
| Grovo Learning | $62.02 | Accel Partners, Lead Edge Capital, SoftTech VC | Career Development |
| Fullbridge | $35.6 | GSV Capital, Harris Preston & Partners, TomorrowVentures | Career Development |
| Simplilearn Solutions | $28 | Brand Capital, Helion Venture Partners, InnoVen Capital | Career Development |
| Axonify | $27 | BDC Venture Capital, Bridgescale Partners, JMI Equity | Career Development |
| OpenSesame | $24.23 | Altos Ventures, Partech Ventures | Career Development |
| BloomBoard | $12.22 | Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Learn Capital, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation | Career Development |
| EduPristine | $11.5 | Accel Partners India, DeVry Education Group, Kaizen Private Equity | Career Development |
| Top Hat | $49.99 | Felicis Ventures, Golden Angels Network, SoftTech VC, Union Square Ventures | Classroom Engagement |
| Nearpod | $37.35 | GSV Acceleration, Insight Venture Partners, NewSchools Venture Fund, StartX | Classroom Engagement |
| Flat World Education | $43.5 | Bessemer Venture Partners, Primary Venture Partners, Tribeca Venture Partners | Course Materials |
| LightSail Education | $24.2 | Blue Ridge Foundation, Jeff Bezos, Sargent Capital | Course Materials |
| Newsela | $20.82 | Kaplan Ventures, Kapor Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, NewSchools Venture Fund, Techstars, Zuckerberg Education Ventures | Course Materials |
| BetterLesson | $12.1 | Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, General Catalyst, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, NewSchools Venture Fund | Course Materials |
| XanEdu Publishing | $11.65 | Plymouth Ventures, Superior Capital Partners | Course Materials |
| NeoBear | $56 | GGV Capital, Haitong Kaiyuan Investment, New Horizon Capital, Qualcomm Ventures | Early Childhood Education |
| DreamBox Learning | $45.6 | Foundation Capital, GSV Capital, Owl Ventures, Tao Capital Partners | Early Childhood Education |
| Knowledge Holdings | $44.39 | Azure Capital Partners, Random House Ventures, TeleSoft Partners | Early Childhood Education |
| Osmo | $38.5 | Accel Partners, Silicon Valley Bank | Early Childhood Education |
| Speakaboos | $25.2 | Advancit Capital, Kyowon Group, The Al Sayegh Group | Early Childhood Education |
| Fingerprint Digital | $19.97 | Corus Entertainment, K2 Media, New Ground Ventures, THQ | Early Childhood Education |
| Kidaptive | $19.62 | Menlo Ventures, NewSchools Venture Fund, S-Cubed Capital, Scrum Ventures, StartX | Early Childhood Education |
| GoNoodle | $17.37 | Childrens Medical Center, Chrysalis Ventures, Gary Facente | Early Childhood Education |
| TinyBop | $16.66 | Brooklyn Bridge Ventures, Kapor Capital, RRE Ventures, Two Sigma Ventures | Early Childhood Education |
| Kaishu Jianggushi | $13 | iResearch Capital, New Oriental Education & Technology | Early Childhood Education |
| iTutorGroup | $315 | Alibaba Group, Goldman Sachs, Qiming Venture Partners, Russia-China Investment Fund | Language Learning |
| Vipkid | $125 | Matrix Partners China, Northern Light Venture Capital, Sequoia Capital China | Language Learning |
| Duolingo | $83.3 | Ashton Kutcher, CapitalG, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, New Enterprise Associates, Tim Ferris, Union Square Ventures | Language Learning |
| Babbel | $33.5 | Berlin ProFIT, Kizoo Technology Ventures, Scottish Equity Partners | Language Learning |
| Voxy | $28 | Contour Venture Partners, GSV Acceleration, Pearson, Rethink Education | Language Learning |
| ABA English | $15.4 | Inaki Ecenarro, Kennet Partners, Nauta Capital | Language Learning |
| ABC360 | $15.3 | Guo Jin Capital, Tencent Holdings, Zero2IPO Capital | Language Learning |
| Ellevation Education | $12.25 | NewSchools Venture Fund, Rethink Education, Zuckerberg Education Ventures | Language Learning |
| Busuu Online | $11.13 | Martin Varsavsky, McGraw-Hill Education, PROfounders Capital | Language Learning |
| Echo360 | $91.82 | Anthem Capital, Court Square Ventures, Softbank Capital | Learning Analytics |
| Civitas Learning | $88.85 | First Round Capital, Rethink Education, Warburg Pincus | Learning Analytics |
| BrightBytes | $51.25 | Bessemer Venture Partners, Insight Venture Partners, Learn Capital, Rethink Education | Learning Analytics |
| Acrobatiq | $17.03 | Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Carnegie Innovations, Draper Triangle Ventures | Learning Analytics |
| Panorama Education | $16.04 | Google Ventures, Sam Altman, SV Angel, Y Combinator, Yale University | Learning Analytics |
| Knewton | $157.25 | Accel Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, First Round Capital, Founders Fund, GSV Capital, Pearson, Silicon Valley Bank | Learning Management System |
| 17zuoye | $135 | H Capital, Shunwei Capital Partners, Temasek Holdings, Tiger Management Corp | Learning Management System |
| Schoology | $55.25 | FirstMark Capital, Great Oaks Venture Capital, Intel Capital, JMI Equity | Learning Management System |
| Everspring | $53.5 | Accretive, Carrick Capital Partners, Park Loop | Learning Management System |
| Huivo | $46.5 | Fosun Kinzon Capital, TAL Education Group, YY | Learning Management System |
| Degreed | $36.42 | GSV Advisors, Kaplan EdTech Accelerator, Rethink Education, Techstars | Learning Management System |
| MasteryConnect | $33.8 | Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Learn Capital, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, NewSchools Venture Fund | Learning Management System |
| ClassDojo | $31.12 | General Catalyst, GSV Advisors, Kapor Capital, Learn Capita, Paul Graham, SV Angel | Learning Management System |
| Smart Sparrow | $23.44 | Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, University of New South Wales | Learning Management System |
| Knowledge Factor | $23.36 | Lacuna, Leeds Equity Partners | Learning Management System |
| EdCast | $22 | GE Capital, Kapor Capital, Menlo Ventures, NewSchools Venture Fund, StartX | Learning Management System |
| FreshGrade | $15.9 | Accel Partners, NewSchools Venture Fund, Reach Capital, Social Capital | Learning Management System |
| AltSchool | $176 | Andreessen Horowitz, First Round Capital, Founders Fund, Learn Capital, Mark Zuckerberg, Priscilla Chan | Next-Gen School |
| Quad Learning | $40.26 | Comcast Ventures, New Atlantic Ventures, New Enterprise Associates | Next-Gen School |
| Bridge International Academies | $27.8 | Khosla Ventures, Learn Capital, Mark Zuckerberg, New Enterprise Associates, Rethink Education | Next-Gen School |
| CueLearn | $19 | capitalG, Sequoia Capital India | Next-Gen School |
| KnowRe | $15.22 | Softbank Ventures Korea, SparkLabs | Next-Gen School |
| Entstudy | $62.21 | Kun Ling Capital, Sharing Capital, Tencent Holdings | Online to Offline |
| Varsity Tutors | $57 | Technology Crossover Ventures | Online to Offline |
| Parchment | $71.55 | GSV Capital, NewSchools Venture Fund, Novak Biddle Venture Partners, Salmon River Capital | School Administration |
| LearnZillion | $22.4 | Calvert Social Venture Partners, Learn Capital, NewSchools Venture Fund, Social Venture Fund | School Administration |
| Examity | $22 | Inherent Group, University Ventures | School Administration |
| Certica Solutions | $13.93 | Brook Venture Partners, New Harbor Capital | School Administration |
| Brightwheel | $12.8 | Adam Grant, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Chris Sacca, Mark Cuban | School Administration |
| Xuebajun | $155 | Qiming Venture Partners, Sinovation Ventures, Vertex Ventures China | Study Tool |
| Grammarly | $110 | Breyer Capital, General Catalyst, Institutional Venture Partners, Spark Capital | Study Tool |
| Knowbox | $25.8 | Delian Capital, Genesis Capital (China), Legend Star | Study Tool |
| StudyBlue | $22.49 | Great Oaks Venture Capital, Steve Wallman, Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation | Study Tool |
| Kahoot! | $12 | Creandum, Microsoft Ventures, Northzone Ventures | Study Tool |
| Quizlet | $12 | Altos Ventures, Costanoa Venture Capital, Tim Brady, Union Square Ventures | Study Tool |
| Galvanize | $87.11 | IBM, New York State Regional Economic Development Councils, University Ventures | Tech Learning |
| littleBits | $59.07 | DFJ Growth Fund, Disney Accelerator, Khosla Ventures, Morgan Stanley, Two Sigma Ventures | Tech Learning |
| Codecademy | $42.52 | Bloomberg Beta, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Sam Altman, Social Capital, SV Angel, Union Square Ventures, Y Combinator | Tech Learning |
| Edgemakers | $13.05 | Avalon Ventures, Eight Roads Ventures | Tech Learning |
| CodeFights | $12.4 | e.ventures, Granatus Ventures, SV Angel | Tech Learning |
| Treehouse Island | $12.35 | Greylock Partners, Kaplan Ventures, Kevin Rose, Mark Suster, Social Capital | Tech Learning |
| Tynker | $10.35 | 500 Startups, New Enterprise Associates, NewSchools Venture Fund | Tech Learning |
| Xiaozhan Jiaoyu | $113 | GGV Capital, Sequoia Capital China, Shunwei Capital Partners | Test Prep |
| Revolution Prep | $21.2 | Jeffrey Cohen, Kennet Partners, Scott Kirkpatrick | Test Prep |
| Toppr | $17.2 | Eight Roads Ventures, Helion Venture Partners, InnoVen Capital | Test Prep |