The East Asia EdTech 150 is HolonIQ's annual list of the most promising EdTech startups from the region.
The East Asia EdTech 150 is focused on identifying young, fast growing and innovative learning, teaching and up-skilling startups from greater China, South Korea and Japan. Powered by data and insights from our Impact Intelligence Platform together with qualitative assessments by HolonIQ’s Intelligence Unit, and local market experts, organizations are evaluated and scored based on our eligibility and assessment criteria, which excludes EdTech's founded over 10 years ago, or those which have exited (listed, acquired or controlled by another organisation).
The East Asia EdTech 150 is aligned to the Global Learning Landscape, an Open-Source Taxonomy that maps the education and talent market
Exhibit 2
The East Asia region exemplifies a healthy diversity of EdTech solutions, illustrating the uptake of technology across the sector and different use cases for technology in learning. East Asia’s appetite for advanced technologies is well recognized, so it’s not surprising to see STEAM, incorporating many K12 math solutions, feature prominently, with the advanced technologies category, including robotics and XR also strong. Management Systems, which is almost exclusively made up of learning environment systems, has been growing steadily over the past few years, demonstrating how education providers across all sectors are seeking platforms and solutions to deliver in digital formats. Language Learning remains a strong category with solutions an even mix servicing K12 and Workforce Training.
Exhibit 3
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Korea strengthens representation as China's share diminishes.
China’s dominance in EdTech has all but disappeared since regulatory change in 2021-22 all but decimated it's K12 afterschool tutoring segment, which made up the majority of its EdTech growth. South Korea continues to strengthen it’s EdTech sector, now representing 37% of the list. It is encouraging to see both Hong Kong SAR and Taiwan also strengthening their EdTech ecosystem.
Exhibit 4
Direct-to-Consumer EdTech models dominate the East Asia EdTech landscape with B2B slowly taking share.
This year sees B2B models edge up. The growth of the management systems explains some of this growth with learning environment solutions such as UMU, Lead U Education, and DeepWave offering services and technology platforms across K12 and Workforce. We are likely to see slow but steady growth in B2B models in EdTech as providers, particularly in the formal education sector continue to digitize their operations.
However, direct-to-consumer models still represent two-thirds of the cohort with many solutions in Language Learning, such as Cookie Langs, Ringle (Korea), Palfish (China) and Polyglots (Japan). STEAM is also strong in direct-to-consumer models, such as Mathpid (Korea), Meishubao (China), and Progate (Japan).
Exhibit 5
The region sees a maturing cohort, however support for early stage EdTech is needed.
As with other regions globally, it’s a tough time for early stage startups in a tight funding environment. East Asia sees a strong growth stage group with companies such as gaining traction in their markets. With only 11% of startups 3 years or younger, there is a need for greater support to nurture the next generation of EdTech innovation and talent. Those in the list founded less that 3 years ago operate acros the spectrum of categories, with team such as Mockingbird, a ollege entrance exam question bank, Letitu, software for high school students to plan their education, and Playtag, which offers AI based early childhood education.
Exhibit 6
Track the 2024 Cohort
HolonIQ customers can track the data for the most promising EdTech startups in the region on the HolonIQ Intelligence Platform. Look for the 2024 East Asia EdTech 150 list and double click into the data behind the charts. Request a Demo if you are not a customer and would like to learn more.
Deep Dive the List
Customers can deep dive the open-source list on the platform. Request a demo to learn more.
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