Studying... Going to 'Edutech' Instead of the Reading Room

Startup Developing Education Programs Utilizing Latest IT Technologies
Notable Growth Since COVID-19

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As the digital transformation of education rapidly progresses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 'Edutech' startups are experiencing a growth boom. These companies, which develop educational programs using the latest IT technologies, have seen a significant increase in service users, and investments that highly evaluate their future growth potential are continuing.

According to Edutech startup Enuma on the 7th, the combined annual new downloads of the company's flagship services, 'TodoEnglish' and 'TodoMath,' are expected to reach 1.8 million this year. This figure has shown significant growth from 790,000 in 2019 and 1.4 million in 2020. The cumulative number of downloads exceeded 10 million as of last October. Enuma also explained that the average monthly revenue has grown more than tenfold compared to 2019.

Online lecture platform Class101 is another Edutech startup experiencing rapid growth. Since launching its service in March 2018, Class101 offers over 2,000 courses across diverse fields such as hobbies, careers, finance, and kids as of the second half of this year. The cumulative number of visitors is approximately 35 million, with 3 million registered members. The number of creators providing lectures has reached 100,000 cumulatively, and the total creator payouts have surpassed 50 billion KRW. Considering that in December last year there were about 1,200 cumulative classes and 65,000 creators, this year has recorded explosive growth.

Elis, which implements a virtual practice environment for software education, is also recognized as an Edutech startup showing steep growth. It has conducted digital transformation education at over 100 universities including Seoul National University and KAIST, as well as major domestic corporations such as SK, LG, and Hyundai Motor Company, resulting in a more than fivefold increase in the number of course completers to 200,000 in just two years. This year, Elis achieved its highest-ever sales exceeding 10 billion KRW, a 240% increase compared to the previous year.

Education content company Day1 Company is also growing rapidly, with its workforce increasing from 96 employees in 2019 to 275 last year and about 430 this year. Since its establishment in 2013 as 'Fast Campus,' its sales have doubled annually on average, reaching 42 billion KRW last year.

Investment is also pouring into these growing Edutech startups. Class101 secured 30 billion KRW in Series B funding last September, and Enuma has received over 22 billion KRW in cumulative investments. Recently, Edutech startup Onui, operator of the online tutoring service 'Seoltap,' raised 14 billion KRW in Series A funding, and digital education startup Yonggamhan Company also received 5 billion KRW in investment.

Investment in Edutech startups is driven by the high growth potential of the related market. According to education market research firm HolonIQ, the global Edutech market size is expected to expand more than twofold from 153 billion USD in 2018 to 342 billion USD by 2025. An industry insider explained, "The key topic in the education industry this year is digital education through Edutech," adding, "Not only existing education companies but also startups that have quickly responded to the demand for non-face-to-face education have entered the market, and developments in new technologies, acquisitions of related companies, and aggressive investments are expected to continue."