🌏 EdTech Headwind or Opportunity Amid Global Student Restrictions
Recent policy shifts by key international education hubs are tightening the flow of international students, with EdTech platforms operating in the sector broadening their footprint to capture new source and destination markets.
Happy Monday 👋
Recent policy shifts by key international education hubs are tightening the flow of international students. Both Canada and Australia will put further caps on student numbers starting 2025 while the UK has raised financial requirements for student visas. At the same time, other countries such as Japan and South Korea are increasingly recruiting international students and, along with China's stated goal of bringing 50,000 American students to study in the country in the next five years. Notwithstanding the US's potential for much larger numbers of inbound international students, there are signals of increasing intra-regional flows, sparking EdTech firms to focus attention on regions. This week saw Canada-based ApplyBoard, secure $74M to expand operations into Europe and Asia. Connect with HolonIQ to find out more about our comprehensive data on global student flows.
💪 Power Moves
🌍 UK and Canada tighten visa issuance for international students. The UK raised financial requirements for international students and Canada further restricted visa permit limits to 437K.
🤖 Pearson launched AI tools targeted to provide a personalized learning experience. These tools aim to provide students with a personalized learning experience by utilizing their digital textbooks and platforms.
💻 2U completed its financial restructuring and came out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company is now privately held and aims to invest in its offerings and services to deliver high-impact education.
💰 Deals of the Week
👩🏻🏫 PhysicsWallah, an Indian tutoring provider, raised $210M in a Series B funding round led by Hornbill Capital, valuing the EdTech firm at $2.8B.
🌍 ApplyBoard, a Canadian EdTech platform for international education, secured ~$74M from RBCx, the tech investment arm of Canada’s largest bank, to expand operations to Europe and Asia.
♪ SIRIUS Music Communications, a German music education provider, raised $4M in seed funding led by Market Capital One.
📡 LabLabee, an Algerian telecommunication training platform, raised $3.4M in seed funding led by Reach Capital to enter the US market and expand its offerings.
♀ NPower, a US-based non-profit for tech training, obtained $2.3M grant from Ascendium Education Group to provide training opportunities for women.
📈 ClassBank, a US-based financial education provider, raised $1M in pre-seed funding led by Brass Ring Ventures to expand its operations nationwide.
🎓 Youni, a Romanian university admissions software provider, raised $1M in a Series A round led by Soulmates Ventures and Early Game Ventures to launch its platform.
Thank you for reading. Have a great week ahead!
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