Malaysian edtech startup AOne secures seed funding from Wavemaker

Malaysian education tech startup AOne said it has secured US$500,000 in seed funding from early-stage venture capital firm Wavemaker Partners.

The company also said that in April, it received funding worth 200,000 ringgit (US$48,000) from ScaleUp Malaysia as part of its participation in the startup accelerator’s inaugural cohort.

AOne CEO Darren Gouk speaking at the 2019 EdTech Asia Summit / Photo credit: AOne

AOne started off in 2015 with My AOne Learning, a marketplace for offline lessons and tutoring services in Malaysia. Its lessons cover a wide range of topics, including academic areas such as math and language, as well as skills like drawing and ballet.

Since then, the company has expanded to offer its learning management system AOne Schools to educational institutions, which it claims is being used by over 800 teachers and learning centers across Southeast Asia.

With this platform, educators can schedule classes, manage student and teacher data, post announcements, and even track and collect client payments. According to AOne’s website, more than 100,000 students in over 50,000 classes are using the systm.

The company said it plans to use the new funds to drive market expansion across Southeast Asia and bolster its existing offerings. At present, most of its users are located in Malaysia and Singapore.

With headquarters in the US and Singapore, Wavemaker focuses on seed-stage startup opportunities primarily in deep technology and the enterprise space. It has recently invested in social ecommerce startup WeBuy and Transcelestial, which aims to build a space laser to deliver internet connectivity.

Wavemaker also just closed its third Southeast Asia fund at US$111 million in July, exceeding its US$100 million target.