Vietnam’s digital economy has expanded at a rapid pace of 39% annually since 2015 and is currently the second fastest-growing in Asia, with 68 million internet users in 2020. Amidst the COVID-19 situation forcing students to stay at home and take classes online, edtech startups in Southeast Asia have sprung up and raised massive amounts of capital. Likewise, many such startups from Vietnam have benefited from this move to remote education.

We take a look at five emerging stars of edtech in Vietnam.

Clevai

Clevai is an online learning platform for students from kindergarten to 12th grade, providing online mathematics courses with teachers from the top schools around the country. Its features include math exercises, weekly lessons, live streaming, amongst other options.

Here are 5 edtech startups in Vietnam upgrading digital education

The platform uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help students with exercises and practice. In addition, the system analyses each student’s learning history to provide appropriate training resources, personalised pathways, and well-timed feedback to optimise progress.                   

Clevai was founded in 2020 by Tran Manh Thang (CEO) with the help of two partners and advisors from Harvard, Oxford, and Google, who mentored the project, which aims to reach more than 20,000 students. 

The startup raised $650.000 USD in 2020 from BOD Tech Ventures and two other investors. In 2021, Clevai obtained an additional $2.1 million USD in a pre-Series A funding round led by Singapore-based Altara Ventures. 

CoderSchool

With the slogan “Learn to Code, Change your Life”, CoderSchool is an edtech startup offering machine learning, data science, and web development courses to help students land jobs. The platform uses AI systems to track student progress, grading, attendance, and provide personalisation of courses.

Founded in 2015, CoderSchool has catered to almost 2,000 students, with enrollment numbers increasing 100% every quarter since early 2020. Within six months after graduation, more than 80% of its full-time users have received employment at big digital companies like Tiki, MoMo, Shopee, Microsoft, and FPT Software.

In 2021, it announced that it raised $2.6 million USD in a pre-seed funding round led by Monk’s Hill Ventures. 

Marathon

Marathon was founded by Pham Duc, who was formerly with investment fund TPG Capital, and Tran Viet Tung, who worked with travel platforms Christina’s and Triip.Me. The startup was launched in 2021 to make after-school learning more accessible in Vietnam and it aims to resolve an issue the men experienced during childhood.

Both grew up in Hanoi and spent much time attending after-school learning centres as young boys. Duc and Tung realised that this necessary educational activity hadn’t kept pace with technological advances, so they designed Marathon as a solution. 

The platform offers math, physics, and chemistry courses to students from grades six to 12.  The company plans to cover all Vietnam’s Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) subjects in the future with lessons based on the National Curriculum.

Marathon has secured $1.5 million USD in pre-seed capital from numerous funds and angel investors, including Singapore’s Forge Ventures.

Educa

Educa Corporation, which operates edtech startup Edupia, was founded in 2018 to provide online English instruction using international standards. Its stated vision is to apply advanced technology to offer high-quality English lessons at affordable prices.

Edupia’s English teaching programme uses the latest methods applied at many international schools across the world. It offers video lectures and exercises in four English learning skills and allows students to practice speaking using an interactive robot. It also provides other activities, including presentations, competitions and live Classes.  

Educa reported raising $2 million USD in 2021 from Singapore-based Redefine Capital Fund. These funds will allow for Edupia’s continued rapid expansion, building on the 500,000 users it has gained after three years of existence. 

Virtual Internships

Established in 2018, Virtual Internships collaborates with universities, schools, agencies, and companies to provide students and employees with upskilling courses, mentor coaching, and guaranteed remote work positions. The startup hopes to redefine career development by reducing barriers to employment through virtual employability programs. 

The edtech company handles the entire process, from application to accepting candidates, takes place on the online platform. It incorporates advanced technology and best practices for remote work setups.

While Virtual Internships was not created in response to Covid-19, it has shown enormous value during the pandemic as the number of internships grew to 1,700 in 2020. This increase inevitably helped the company raise $2.5 million USD in a funding round in July 2021, led by Sequoia Capital India’s accelerator program Surge, allowing them to strive towards their ambition of building a global pipeline for students seeking internships. 

Even as many businesses have shut down due to the pandemic, edtech startups in Southeast Asia have continued to thrive, drawing investors’ attention as people switch to online learning and working. The Vietnam-based edtech startups emerging from the crisis are flourishing and leading the way for many others in the region. The digital platform has become essential in this age, making it the opportune time for edtech within the nation to shine.