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In this post I will create a list of 30 education technology companies with the following details: founding date, mission statement and website link. I want to conduct this personal investigation to understand how this field has evolved in the last two decades from 2003 to 2023.
- Scratch was founded in 2003 in the US. It is a high-level block-based visual programming language and website aimed primarily at children as an educational tool, with a target audience of ages 8 to 16. Users on the site, called Scratchers, can create projects on the website using a block-like interface.
- Teachers pay Teachers was founded in 2006 in the US. It is an online marketplace for buying and selling educator resources with a focus on the Pre K-12 audience.
- Coursehero was founded in 2006 in the US. It operates an online learning platform for students to access course-specific study resources and online tutors. Subscription or content contribution is required for students to use the platform.
- Age of Learning was founded in 2007 in the US. It develops engaging, effective digital learning technology and content to help children build a strong foundation for academic success like ABCmouse.com Early Learning Academy, Adventure Academy massively multiplayer online (MMO) game and My Math Academy digital learning system (available for schools) that individualizes math instruction for every child through AI-driven technology.
- Eruditus was founded in 2010 in India. It partners with 50 top tier universities to provide access to executive education programs.
- Domestika was founded in 2010 in Spain. It is an online learning platform for creatives, with paid courses on software, crafts, illustration, and more.
- Skillshare was founded in 2010 in the US. It is an online learning community based in the United States for people who want to learn from educational videos. The courses, which are not accredited, are only available through paid subscription.
- Kajabi was founded in 2010 in the US. It is an online subscription platform that allows members to build and manage websites to monetize digital offerings such as online courses, membership communities and podcasts.
- Byju’s was founded in 2011 in India. It offers 1:1 tutoring programs for the K-12 segment through online videos. It also offers separate classes on coding through Tynker, reading through Epic Books and pre-kindergarten learning through Disney Active Learn.
- ClassDojo was founded in 2011 in the UK. It connects primary school teachers, students and families through communication features, such as a feed for photos and videos from the school day, and messaging that can be translated into more than 35 languages.
- Canva was founded in 2012 in Australia. It is a free graphic design tool that allows students and teachers alike to construct presentations, posters, infographics, logos, videos, and more. Plus, with free templates and design tips, users can work together to let their creativity flow.
- BetterUp was founded in 2013 in the US. It is a mobile-based leadership development and 1:1 coaching platform.
- Kami was founded in 2013 in New Zealand. On Kami teachers can upload resources like slides and images, and convert them into dynamic lessons and tasks. Additionally, teachers can give feedback through voice, video, and screen capture.
- Noon Academy was founded in 2013 in Saudi Arabia. It is an on-demand online tutoring platform that differentiates its services through social and gamification features.
- Handshake was founded in 2014 in the US. It allows college students to explore career options, find jobs and internships for students, and connect with employers.
- Google Classroom was founded in 2014 in the US. It aims to simplify how teachers make, distribute, and grade assignments. The primary purpose of Google Classroom is to streamline the process of sharing files between teachers and students. Apart from Google Classroom the suite of education tools provided by Google for educators also includes Google Forms, Google Drive, Google Meets, Google Chat, Google Documents, Google Sheets, Google Calendar.
- Paper was founded in 2014 in Canada. It offers one-on-one tutoring, coaching on writing skills, college and career support, AI-powered literacy help, gamified learning, and after-school enrichment.
- Guild Education was founded in 2015 in the US. It helps employers provide tuition-free education, skilling, and career mobility to their workforce.
- Masterclass was founded in 2015 in the US. It is an online education subscription platform on which students can access tutorials and lectures pre-recorded by experts in various fields.
- UpGrad was founded in 2015 in India. It aims to impact the lives of working professionals by helping them upskill through online post secondary courses.
- Unacademy was founded in 2015 in India. It prepares students for various competitive exams, as well as provides content on foundational and skill building courses.
- ApplyBoard was founded in 2015 in Canada. It simplifies the study abroad search, application, and acceptance process by connecting international students, recruitment partners, and academic institutions on one platform.
- OutSchool was founded in 2015 in the US. It is a virtual teaching platform that allows kids to choose from and enroll in thousands of different live, small group classes.
- Simply was founded in 2015 in Israel. It is an online learning tool that allows you to learn creative skills like playing the piano, strumming a guitar, drawing skills, or singing your heart out.
- Physics Wallah was founded in 2016 in India. It started as a youtube channel and then moved to a mobile application that focuses on preparing students in India for competitive exams and school work.
- GoStudent was founded in 2016 in Austria. It offers personalised online tutoring services on a digital platform.
- Multiverse was founded in 2016 in the UK. It provides an alternative to university training through professional apprenticeships and on the job training in areas including Software Engineering, Digital Marketing and Data Analytics that typically last 12-15 months.
- uLesson was founded in 2019 in Nigeria. It offers tutoring services to students in primary, junior and senior secondary school.
- Henry was founded in 2019 in Argentina. It is an online data science school that trains software developers & data scientists for free and help them find a job remotely in exchange of a share of their future income.
- Fenbi was founded in 2020 in China. It is an online post secondary test preparation company that provides provides resources and material to prepare for civil service examinations, public institution recruitment examinations, teacher qualification certificates, recruitment examinations and postgraduate entrance examinations.
- 12 companies on this list are from the US. 5 companies are from India. 2 companies are from Canada. 2 companies are from China. 2 companies are from UK. 1 company is from Argentina. 1 company is from Nigeria. 1 company is from Israel. 1 company is from Austria. 1 company is from New Zealand. 1 company is from Australia.
- A majority of these companies focus on a specific set of educational services offered digitally
- Some large American education technology companies were not included in this list because they became publicly traded companies through an initial public offering (IPO), which refers to the process of offering shares of a private corporation to the public in a new stock issuance for the first time. Coursera listed its IPO in March 2021 and works with universities and other organizations to offer online courses, certifications, and degrees in a variety of subjects. Udemy listed its IPO in October 2021 and is an online learning and teaching marketplace with over 213000 courses and 62 million students. A 2022 article on Class central by Dhawal Shah breaks down the impact of the IPO on both these companies.
- Some large Chinese education technology companies were not included in this list because these companies have been subject to major changes in the Chinese education regulatory environment. These companies include Changingedu, Golden Education, Hetao101, Huohua Siwei, Huike, HuJiang, Knowbox, VIPKid, Yuanfudao, Yunxuetang and Zuoyebang. A 2021 article in Techcrunch by Elliot Zaagman reported that this policy change by the Chinese government included a ban, “on any for-profit tutoring services focused on the country’s core public school curriculum, oriented around the make-or-break high school and university entrance exams. Limits were also set on the times during which students could attend classes, restricting class schedules to no later than 9pm on weekdays, and allowing only extracurricular courses on weekends.” This policy change has been explained in detail in this article by the Xinhua news agency from China.
- A major challenge faced by private education companies includes aligning their offerings with the spending habits of parents and with the policy regulations of school systems of each country. In North America most parents opt for public education because of the high costs of private education. In India and the Middle East many urban based parents opt for private education as it is more affordable; and helps students overcome language barriers in public schools that often provide instruction in the regional language of the area. According to me, there seems to be a stronger tradition of investing a significant amount of money in academic after school programs in Asia. On the other hand, I feel that there is a stronger tradition of investing a significant amount of money in extracurricular after school programs in North America. These thoughts are my personal opinion based on my experience in education systems in both these contexts.
Please do send me your thoughts and resources on any edition of this newsletter through email at [email protected] or on twitter @AbhishekShetty_. You can find my work online at https://abhishekshetty.carrd.co/.
I love taking these discussions forward on those platforms.
