Mapping the key edtech players in SEA still standing (update)

In Southeast Asia, education is big business.

That’s no wonder, given how the region has a population of more than 690 million as well as a growing middle class with rising incomes and aspirations that’s looking to spend on their children’s education. These are among the reasons why online education in Southeast Asia is projected to exceed US$2 billion in revenue by the end of this year.

Despite this positive outlook, many edtech players in the region seem to be facing headwinds. While the sector was flush with VC money until 2021, funding has plummeted in recent years.

Tech in Asia data shows that funding value hit below US$148 million in the last two years, tumbling by more than 8x from its peak of US$948 million in 2021. The number of edtech funding deals also dipped by over 3.5x.

While lockdowns during the pandemic created a rush towards online learning and spurred investment in edtech, money has been less forthcoming since the return to offline education. In addition, the tech winter has not spared the sector: Tech in Asia data shows that several startups mentioned in our 2021 edtech landscape map have become inactive, ceased operations, or pivoted their business.

Some examples include Indonesia’s Zenius, which had temporarily halted its services starting January amid operational challenges, and Vietnamese edtech platform Kyna, which has pivoted to focus on online English teaching with Kyna English.

Besides this, many other edtech firms had to cut jobs and scale down. Indonesian edtech major Ruangguru, for instance, laid off hundreds of employees in 2022. Another player from the country, Binar Academy, reduced its headcount by 20% that same year, while LingoAce terminated hundreds of staff in 2023.

See also: Misfires and failed bets: why school’s out for Zenius after 20 years

That said, VCs seem to still believe in edtech’s promise as they have backed new players in Southeast Asia. Early-stage companies have secured the majority of investments, according to the chart below.

One such startup is Vuihoc, which provides educational content such as video lectures and quizzes to users in Vietnam’s Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. It raised US$6 million in a series A round in July 2023.

There was one large late-stage deal last year: Vietnam’s EQuest Education Group US$120 million fundraise in March 2023. MindX, another edtech firm based in the country, scored US$15 million in a series B round the following month.

In terms of where the investment is flowing within the region, it’s perhaps no surprise to see Singapore-headquartered firms on top of the list, attracting US$982 million in funding over the last three years.

That said, a large chunk of the funding in Singapore came from one deal: Emeritus’ US$650 million round. But even excluding this deal, Singapore still is the top investment destination for edtech, drawing over 2x the amount of funding received by Vietnam, which is no. 2 on the list. Indonesia follows closely at third place.

A similar view from China and India

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