One of the good metrics to understand the situation is money. According to the list of global EdTech unicorns,

tutoring (6), corporate training (5), and online secondary education (3) have the most billion-dollar companies. 

Here are trends that you should definitely pay attention to

Quality is the key 

The audience is becoming more and more demanding of educational products. Thanks to this, competition in the educational services market is increasing, and the word “quality” is heard more and more often in public industry conversations. 

This concept also includes the availability of the product for users of different ages. The number of people over the age of sixty on the planet is expected to more than double by 2050 (from 962 million to 2.1 billion) and triple by 2100 (to 3.1 billion). As you can see, the 60+ demographic is growing faster than any other. Cognitive change and the needs of older people in terms of interfaces are well understood, so no one will have to reinvent their own wheel here. 

At the same time, the age of the audience that gets acquainted with EdTech products for the first time is decreasing, and more and more educational solutions are appearing on the market, even for preschoolers. 

IPO 

Until last year, global EdTech companies had almost no IPOs. But in 2021, investors have poured over $13 billion into EdTech. Thus, 14 educational companies worth more than $1 billion appeared on the world market in one year.  

Among them are the American MasterClass, the Indian Emeritus, the Austrian GoStudent and others. For comparison, in six years, from 2014 to 2020, 21 EdTech companies reached this level. The near future will show if EdTech companies can continue to grow. 

Blockchain 

On the one hand, the word "blockchain" is in almost any list of "trends of the future". On the other hand, EdTech is the industry that is able to maximize the benefits of this technology. 

Blockchain is a trusted proof of skills and professionalism in a digital format that can be authenticated by any interested party. On such a basis, you can build many of the workflows needed in EdTech. 

For example, the Odem online education service issues blockchain diplomas for completing educational courses. Also based on this technology, records are stored here about what courses a particular teacher has read and what grades he received from students. Thus, education acquires a completely different quality. Any interested person can check what, in the literal sense of the word, the educational process consists of. 

Artificial intelligence 

In 2021, EdTech startups have invested over $4 billion in artificial intelligence technologies. According to a Google study, educators today are openly talking about their interest in AI tools in EdTech. After all, AI can be entrusted with checking homework, making forecasts, and making decisions on the further career track of students. At the end of last year, Google announced the creation of an assistant program for students that can give them personalized feedback during the learning process. 

But there is also a predictable downside. Not always the actions of AI can be called transparent and understandable. Most likely, a heated discussion will inevitably arise here can we trust AI completely or make the process of its work more open? Most likely, there is no correct answer here and this will become a separate fascinating story. 

Programming for everyone 

Whatever a person does today, the ability to program is a skill that can seriously improve the quality of work and save resources. In almost any job, there is a need to perform many similar operations, analyze information and find patterns, quickly collect data from sources, and more. The ability to program allows you to solve these problems quickly and efficiently. 

It is natural to increase the popularity of Low Code/No Code projects here. They make it possible to minimize the level of entry into programming. Since we remember that "coding is the new literacy", such projects are an ideal launching pad in which to understand the basic principles of programming. Low Code will allow people to understand the principles of IT systems more deeply and more accurately. 

Virtual Reality 

The global augmented and virtual reality market is expected to exceed $125 billion by 2024. You can use these technologies when teaching almost any skill, because there is a “‎working environment” in one form or another in almost any industry. 

Global view 

Features of EdTech vary from region to region, and here are some things to look out for in order to understand the situation as a whole: 

Europe

The quality of educational institutions that have been formed over the centuries is valued here. Therefore, more traditional formats prevail here. But the level of integration of new technologies into the education process is constantly growing. As elsewhere, this process is being accelerated by COVID-19. 

More than half of EdTech products are b2c, since the most frequent customer in the EU is individual consumers (parents and students). Most of the strong EdTech companies in this region are represented in the UK, France, and Germany. 

East Asia

This is one of the most important global regions for EdTech. It is home to 1.6 billion people, making it the most populous in the world. It is also an emerging high-tech hub, accounting for more than half of global tech company revenue growth over the past decade and more than 45% of global startup funding.  

Education is a key component of this development, which is why there are many EdTech companies here. Especially those working in the field of robotics and artificial intelligence. 

Most of the EdTech companies here work on the b2c model. Individual customers (parents and students) are willing to pay for products that will help them achieve their goals. These are, for example, admission to a university, high grades, or professional recognition. 

China takes EdTech seriously. Already in 2019, lessons on artificial intelligence appeared in the country's schools, and a methodological base and full-fledged textbooks were developed. The country is very actively experimenting with the use of AI in education, and the authorities provide tax incentives for companies that create products based on AI. 

One of the most successful AI-powered EdTech startups in China is the unicorn company Squirrel AI. The principle of operation here is as follows - the amount of information on a particular subject is divided into many small blocks ("knowledge points").  

During the testing of a particular student, the zones with the largest gaps are determined. After that, a plan of specific exercises is generated in an automated mode to correct the situation. To illustrate the level of detail, a high school math course is broken down into over 10,000 knowledge points in Squirrel AI. Judging by the popularity of the service in China, this approach is quite effective. 

North America

More than a third of the country's top EdTech companies operate on a b2b basis, collaborating with schools, universities, or corporations. The rapid transition of educational institutions to online learning has led to explosive growth in demand for solutions that can not only organize the process online but also support it in working order. 

Solutions for analytics and social-emotional learning are also in demand. Almost half of the companies are b2c. One in five companies is 3 years old or less. There has been an increase in attention to EdTech products for company employees. Possession of real skills is more valuable than diplomas, and the requirements for the level of qualification of employees are growing. 

Summary