According to the latest edition of Best in Class: Global Trends in EdTech from a London Perspective, London is the only European city to appear in the top 10 EdTech hubs for investment.
London has been ranked eighth globally, with $630 million invested by venture capital since 2014, and $124 million invested last year, and it’s expected that London EdTech is now worth $3.4 billion.
In terms of deal count volume since 2014, London ranked third globally with 272 funding rounds, behind San Francisco (465) and New York (360), suggesting that there is still significant growth to come within the sector for the UK capital.
Additionally, the UK leads Europe in nationwide VC investment, with $1 billion invested since 2014, more than France ($0.4 billion), Ireland ($0.3 billion) and Germany ($0.2 billion) combined.
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“The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the global adoption of EdTech platforms as schools, universities and employers embrace online learning,” said Laura Citron, CEO of London & Partners.
“London’s EdTech companies are well-placed to meet this increased demand and today’s new research, released to coincide with London Tech Week 2020, shows London is leading the way in Europe for EdTech and is quickly becoming a major global hub.
“London is a global centre of learning, home to four universities in the world’s top 50, and its thriving EdTech ecosystem provides access to growth capital, expertise, talent and universities all in one place.
“It is a city that fosters creativity and innovation, enabling startups and scaleups in the EdTech space to develop exciting new technologies that will shape the future of learning.”
London’s rising EdTech stars
London-based EdTech companies that have experienced growth during the pandemic include:
- Century Tech, which completed a tech partnership deal with the Lebanese government to allow thousands of children throughout the country free access to its capabilities.
- Construct Education, as it opened offices in the US and South Africa.
- EduMe, which closed a $5 million Series A funding round from Valo Ventures.
- Lingumi, which raised a $5 million Series A round in April 2020.
- WhiteHat, which have seen employee count accelerate over the last six months.
- VRTuoso, which saw usership surpass 1 million users in April 2020.
Jacob Waern, founder and CEO of EduMe, commented: “London proved to be the right mix of talent, open-minded thinking and creativity that made it an easy choice to base our emerging business. In the last six months, we’ve built even closer relationships with our customers and are even more attuned to the best ways of serving remote employees.
“Through the Coronavirus crisis, we’ve experienced a surge in demand for EduMe, including Uber using us to train drivers on Coronavirus safety measures globally.
“With our recent boost in committed investment, we’re aggressively hiring new talent, we’re targeting new industries and we will continue to help companies globally, to train, inform and engage an increasingly deskless workforce.”
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Elsewhere in EdTech
Chinese EdTech investment also proves prominent, with Beijing ($7.5 billion) and Shanghai ($3.5 billion) being ranked 1st and 3rd respectively, while San Francisco ($4 billion) took 2nd place, and Bangalore (1.7 billion) was ranked fourth.
Globally, VC investment into EdTech is on track to grow by 15% to $7.6 billion this year, according to the research.
You can find the full report from London & Partners and Dealroom here.
