Korean AI education start-up gets $41m pre-Series D

The company has now raised $70.2 million since it was established in 2014. According to AVCJ Research’s records, Riiid received seed funding from the Tech Incubator Program for Startups (TIPS) in 2015 and a KRW2 billion ($1.7 million) Series A round the following year. A Series B of KRW11.5 billion and a Series C of KRW20 billion closed in 2018 and 2019, respectively. IMM took part in the Series C.

Riiid is best known for Santa, a mobile test preparation app for the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC), an internationally recognized English language proficiency qualification for non-native speakers. The test was designed to measure English ability in a business setting, but it is often used by universities as part of the admissions process. It is very popular in Korea.

The company claims that Santa has been used by more than one million students in Korea and Japan, becoming the best-selling education app in each country. Annual sales growth has topped 200% since 2017, the year that Santa for TOEIC was launched.

The platform relies on deep-learning algorithms that analyze student data and content, predict scores and user behavior, and recommend personalized study plans in real-time. The goal is to replace textbooks and traditional lectures with a personalized artificial intelligence (AI) tutor that works faster than human equivalents and at a much lower cost.

The new funding will go towards ongoing product development efforts and overseas expansion, notably in the US, South America, and the Middle East. At present, Riiid has operations in Korea, Japan and Vietnam, but Riiid Labs was established in Silicon Valley earlier this year as a global hub for the business. The company wants to provide back-end solutions for companies, school districts, and education ministries globally for a wide range of learning applications.

“Riiid successfully completed domestic funding amid a slower investment environment due to the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic and has made significant progress in negotiating with overseas financial investors to accelerate global expansion," said Y.J. Jang, the company’s CEO, in a statement.

He added that global partnerships are in the process of being formed that would see the deployment of Riiid’s AI technology in academic and commercial markets. New products and services will be unveiled in due course. “We are committed to creating a future for education beyond our imagination through in-depth R&D and commercialization of technology,” Jang said.

Riid’s roster of past and current investors also includes DSC Investment, DS Asset Management, Shinhan Capital, Korea Investment Partners, Company K Partners, Partners Investment, Huayi Investment, ES Investor, NP Equity Partners, Premier Partners, Alpenroute Asset Management, K-Growth, and theVentures

Other recent investments in Korea’s online education space include VIG Partners acquiring a controlling stake in D.Share last October. The company is an online-to-offline English language education provider that provides private courses for high school students preparing for the national college entrance exam and application process.

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• Topics
• North Asia
• Technology
• Expansion
• South Korea
• Education
• TMT
• Growth capital
• IMM Investment
• Korea Development Bank
• artificial intelligence