Why global EdTech’s moment is now

7 min readJul 13, 2021

It is an exciting time to be in EdTech.

Despite the devastating impact of COVID-19 on health and the economy, the pandemic accelerated education’s inevitable journey towards the digital age. In all corners of the globe, students logged onto online platforms (others tuned in to TV or the radio) to learn, teachers turned to innovative tools to plan and deliver their lessons, parents looked for innovative ways to communicate with teachers, and administrators looked for tools to keep track of it all.

EdTech did not only help kids at schools, but it also proved crucially valuable to the most vulnerable during the pandemic. Indeed, healthcare workers turned to online courses (for example, offered by Generation) to get up to speed in their fight against the virus, while frontline workers used the Guild platform to earn college credits and upskill themselves. On top of it all, EdTech helped us stay sane while we were confined in our homes and isolated from the world. I personally started and finished a Portuguese course on Duolingo (and attempted a Swahili course), completed a Data Science coding track on DataCamp, and streamed the now-famous Science of Well-Being class on Coursera.

In short, where the internet is available and tools are affordable, EdTech came to the rescue.

And it is here to stay. Indeed, one year and a half into the pandemic, EdTech companies are soaring in size, scale and valuation, attracting competitive venture funding and completing exciting exits.

More importantly, the EdTech industry continues to have an outsize impact on our lives by delivering on its promise to democratize access to education and improve learning.

No shortage of innovation … and impact

Over the past 6 months, we at GSV Ventures have been busy finding and funding the most promising EdTech companies all over the world. We’ve also been equally busy building the EdTech ecosystem through our flagship Summit with ASU (this year happening in person in San Diego!).

Our Fund II, which closed in late 2020, includes some of the most innovative and impactful companies in the world. We are proud investors in LEAD, an Indian startup that powers affordable K-12 schools and that has already reached 800,000 students and their families. Ethena, another company we have backed, is modernizing corporate compliance training, starting with the increasingly important and mandated sexual harassment training. Another company in our portfolio, Quizizz, is bringing fun to the classroom, using learning science to safely and effectively gamify learning at scale, having already impacted 70M users in 100+ countries. Similarly, Tekie is using storytelling to make learning to code a movie-like experience. EdTech is also leading with today’s most cutting edge technology. Case in point is Quillbot, a tool that helps make the writing process more efficient and less painful. Another example is Photomath, an app that instantly scans handwritten math problems and offers step-by-step explanations on how to solve them.

Beyond innovation, EdTech companies are also creating markets for educators worldwide. An example we are excited about is Classplus, an Indian company that enables tutoring centers to move online, taking care of the Tech so that educators can focus on the Ed. Moreover, our portfolio companies are reaching far and wide. One prominent example is Valenture Institute, a private online high school based in South Africa, which is expanding access to quality education and globally-recognized high school diplomas to learners everywhere. Another example is CoLearn, an Indonesian startup that has impacted 3.5M students to-date by providing step-by-step solution videos to learners’ math questions.

And we have just scratched the surface when it comes to exciting companies. In our upcoming ASU+GSV Summit, we will highlight GSV150, a list of the Top 150 EdTech growth companies in the world and we will showcase Elite200, a list of 200 global, up-and-coming companies competing for our $1M GSV Cup Pitch Competition. We will also discuss broader themes in EdTech access, equity and innovation. Panels will cover topics such as Designing equitable postsecondary pathways through the comprehensive learner and employment record, Revaluing the Currency of “Power” skills in K-12, Microschools: Kickstarting Innovation and Macro Change, AR/VR in Education, Blockchain and Credential Liquidity Across Pre-K to Grey, and more.

Global EdTech funding reaches record high for the first half of 2021

EdTech companies have collectively raised ~$9B in venture funding in the first half of 2021 (HolonIQ estimates $10B in funding), more than double last year’s total deal size for the same period. This amount is a long way from the $0.5B raised just a decade ago in 2010, and already more than all the funding raised between 2010 and 2015. Moreover, the industry is on track to surpass the already-record high total funding raised in 2020 at $16B (HolonIQ).

Beyond the staggering total funding that was raised, HolonIQ reports 53 Mega Rounds of USD $100M+ in the last 18 months and more than 3,000 rounds of USD 5M+. Moreover, while the US has traditionally dominated the total EdTech funding market, it now accounts for just a third of global venture flows. China, which has sustained strong activity over the past 5 years, is the only region where EdTech funding has declined ($1.4B in 2021 H1, down from a record ~$5B in 2020 H1). Indeed, China’s EdTech industry is facing significant headwinds following recent regulations that are expected to limit the scope of private education entities.

Funding in European companies has shown renewed interest in EdTech, with France leading the way through large rounds in OpenClassrooms (USD 80M Series C) and Ornikar (USD 120M Series C), as well as in Austria through GoStudent (USD 250M Series C). In North American, Canadian companies have also raised some significant rounds, such as Paper (USD 100M Series C), ApplyBoard (USD 300M Series D) and Top Hat (130M Series E).

India is EdTech’s goldmine

If there’s one country with sustained momentum and excitement well into 2021, it is India. With a large population of 1.4B, 9% annual GDP growth and an expanding middle class, India’s spend on EdTech is projected to reach $30B in 2030, growing rapidly from $3B today.

BYJU’S is now the world’s most valuable EdTech company, following their Series F raises (USD $460M, then USD $350M), putting them at a $13B+ valuation. The company has become a household name in India (even becoming a sponsor to the national cricket team) and is on its way to become a global powerhouse. Indeed, BYJU’S has accelerated its expansion efforts through its acquisition of Indian offline tutoring company Aakash (for nearly USD $1B) and internationally through its acquisition of Whitehat Jr in 2020. With this activity, BYJU’S is now present in the US, Australia, Mexico, Brazil, UK and Indonesia.

India’s EdTech venture activity has continued its promising streak, with total funding reaching USD $1.4B and with 59 rounds in the first half of 2021.

Note: GSV is an investor in a number of Indian companies, including Tekie, Classplus, Quizizz and Lead, among others.

A ballooning number of EdTech unicorns and exciting exits add to the momentum

HolonIQ reports that there are now 27 Edtech Unicorns globally, with 11 companies having joined the list in the first half of 2021. Many companies have raised mega rounds just below the $1B mark, ensuring an ever-growing list in the future.

Excitingly, an unusual number of exits has been recorded in the EdTech industry this year. Of course, Coursera (a GSV portfolio company) went public and now has a market cap of $5.4B. Short-course provider 2U acquired HarvardxMIT’s EdX for $800M, on the same day that Duolingo filed to go public and one day after Instructure (maker of the Canvas LMS) also filed. Roblox, a company at the intersection of EdTech and Gaming, went public earlier this year at a $30B market cap.

Besides the busy IPO activity, we have also seen strong M&A activity this year. As of April 2021, TechCrunch reported 24 deals, including Kahoot’s acquisition of Clever for $500M, Renaissance Learning’s acquisition of Nearpod for $650M and Quizlet’s acquisition of Slader. Moreover, Course Hero acquired LitCharts, Pluralsight acquired A Cloud Guru, Intellispark acquired ScholarCentric and BEGiN acquired codeSpark, to name a few more.

Note: GSV is an investor in Nearpod, Clever, Course Hero, Pluralsight, Intellispark and Coursera.

We are just getting started

Investing in the EdTech industry today is a privilege we have long dreamed of. Not only does EdTech bring about impact through Return on Education (RoE), but it now also provides strong Returns on Investment. As the industry continues to grow and mature, we are excited to back the most exciting companies, increase our support to traditionally under-served markets and work to document and showcase EdTech’s impact. Join us on this journey!