$16.1B of Global EdTech Venture Capital in 2020

EdTech VC has grown 32x since 2010, reaching a record $16.1B in 2020.

Education Intelligence Unit

calendar image
January 5, 2021

Global EdTech started the last decade with $500m of Venture Capital invested in 2010 and finished 32x higher at $16.1B in 2020, nearly 2x the previous investment record in 2018.

Every January, we look back on the prior year to reflect on Venture Capital investment in education technology around the world. This January marks the close of an extraordinary decade for education technology with just short of $50B in funding backing a vision to transform the way the world learns and support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal four (SDG4).

Through 2020, the shock of the global COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in disruption to learning on an incredible and global scale, with the rapid acceleration of technology uptake supporting education continuity at all levels and highlighting the massive inequalities in technology access and community connectivity.  Venture Capital investment in EdTech has witnessed a corresponding surge, with the historically large markets of China and the US continuing to grow, along with the spectacular rise of India as an EdTech powerhouse.

Over 1,500 EdTech VC deals in 2020 with Workforce representing almost half of all transactions globally and K12 almost one-third.

While Asia-based K12 B2C investments represent the largest slice of dollars invested in EdTech through 2020, almost half the volume of VC transactions in EdTech (number of deals) through the year were focused on Workforce (Vocational, Corporate Training and Professional UpSkilling), illustrating the underlying dynamic at play as the world moves through significant workplace and demographic change.  At a sub-sector level, digital infrastructure to support education institutions’ delivery of learning, such as management systems, learning environments and digital content, make up around a quarter of the 2020 transactions.

Mega ($100M+) and Billion dollar+ funding rounds dominated the VC EdTech landscape in 2020.

China accounted for almost two-thirds of VC funding in 2020, with investment in the US and India each at around $2.5B. $8B, or over half of all EdTech VC in 2020, was raised by EdTech Unicorns. Fundraising from Unicorns in China accounted for half of the total global VC investment in EdTech in 2020. The same dynamic can be seen in India on a smaller scale, whereas the US maintains a broader and perhaps more diverse foundation of smaller fundraising rounds.

Asia now makes up nearly 80% of all global VC dollars invested. All regions are growing.

Over the past 10 years, Asia’s share of EdTech venture capital investment has been steadily increasing to now, where it accounts for almost 80% of all Global EdTech investment. Asian nations, which account for almost 60% of the world’s population, place a very high value on education, with a willingness and increasing ability to contribute a large proportion of household income to educating their children. As internet connectivity continues to improve across Asia, we are likely to see increased uptake of technology for education and corresponding EdTech investment funding.

No items found.
No items found.
No items found.

Latest Insights

Global Insights from HolonIQ’s Intelligence Unit. Powered by our Global Impact Intelligence Platform.

Newsletter
Newsletter
2024 Back to School
2024 Back to School
North America EdTech 200
North America EdTech 200
2024 Paris HE Summit
2024 Paris HE Summit
2024 San Juan Speaker
2024 San Juan Speaker
Indices
Indices
Cities
Cities
2023 Back to School Featured Speaker
2023 Back to School Featured Speaker
New York
New York
2023
2023
Webinar
Webinar
Economics
Economics
Draft
Draft
Platform
Platform
2022
2022
Digital Transformation
Digital Transformation
MedTech
MedTech
Global Impact Summits
Global Impact Summits
Impact 3000
Impact 3000
Nuclear
Nuclear
Mobility
Mobility
Electric Vehicles
Electric Vehicles
2021
2021
2020
2020
Sub Saharan Africa
Sub Saharan Africa
Nordic Baltic
Nordic Baltic
North America
North America
South Asia
South Asia
East Asia
East Asia
ANZ
ANZ
Market Sizing
Market Sizing
Augmented Reality
Augmented Reality
Blockchain
Blockchain
Virtual Reality
Virtual Reality
Regions
Regions
Markets
Markets
Mobile
Mobile
Client Report
Client Report
Publishers
Publishers
Labor Markets
Labor Markets
Global Landscape
Global Landscape
10 Charts Series
10 Charts Series
R&D
R&D
LMS
LMS
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Executive Panel
Executive Panel
Language Learning
Language Learning
Russia
Russia
Israel
Israel
Germany
Germany
France
France
Media and Press
Media and Press
Climate Tech
Climate Tech
MENA
MENA
South Korea
South Korea
Japan
Japan
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Health Tech
Health Tech
Global EdTech 1000
Global EdTech 1000
Unicorns
Unicorns
MOOCs
MOOCs
Global Giants
Global Giants
Client Note
Client Note
Capital Markets
Capital Markets
Advanced Technology
Advanced Technology
OPM
OPM
International Education
International Education
India
India
China
China
Canada
Canada
Venture Capital
Venture Capital
Bootcamps
Bootcamps
Online learning
Online learning
Notes
Notes
Europe
Europe
Asia
Asia
Africa
Africa
LATAM
LATAM
Brazil
Brazil
Robotics
Robotics
Education in 2030
Education in 2030
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence
SDG 17
SDG 17
SDG 16
SDG 16
SDG 15
SDG 15
SDG 14
SDG 14
SDG 13
SDG 13
SDG 12
SDG 12
SDG 11
SDG 11
SDG 10
SDG 10
SDG 9
SDG 9
SDG 8
SDG 8
SDG 7
SDG 7
SDG 6
SDG 6
SDG 5
SDG 5
SDG 4
SDG 4
SDG 3
SDG 3
SDG 2
SDG 2
SDG 1
SDG 1
Climate Tech 1000
Climate Tech 1000

Sign Up for our Newsletters

We provide you with relevant and up-to-date insights on the global impact economy. Choose out of our newsletters and you will find trending topics in your inbox.

Weekly Newsletter

Climate Technology

Weekly Newsletter

Education Technology

Weekly Newsletter

Health Technology

Weekly Newsletter

Higher Education

Daily Newsletter

Chart of the Day

Daily Newsletter

Impact Capital Markets