SEATTLE, Nov. 14, 2017 /PRNewswire-iReach/ — The investments made to learning technology companies in the first ten months of 2017 were the highest in the history of the learning technology industry by an extraordinary margin. By November 2017, global investments made to learning technology companies reached over $8.15 billion, up 11% from the previous record set in 2016 ($7.33 billion) and up over 24% from the $6.54 billion reached in 2015.

“This is a remarkable three-year pattern,” reports Metaari’s Chief Researcher, Sam S. Adkins. “We still have six weeks left in the year and investments have already breached the $8 billion threshold this year. Over $22 billion has been invested in learning technology companies in the last three years. This is unprecedented in the industry.”

Metaari publishes their annual whitepaper in the first week of January every year. The new free whitepaper is called “The 2017 Global Learning Technology Investment Patterns” and will be released on January 4^th, 2018.

“Metaari principals have been tracking education technology investment since 1997,” comments Adkins. “We analyze edtech investment patterns on a daily basis and monitor investment information sources from all over the world. We view investments as leading indicators and this endeavor yields a great deal of insight on the rapidly evolving learning technology industry.”

While there is still six weeks left in the calendar year, one major change in investment patterns in 2016 and 2017 is the sharp decline of the total number of deals and the increase in funding amounts over $50 million. For the first ten months of 2017, 531 edtech companies were funded. For the full year of 2016, there were 695 deals, down from 728 deals made in 2015. Fewer companies are raising funds, but they are garnering higher amounts.

“We track learning technology markets and investment trends in 122 countries,” adds Adkins. “The most significant investment pattern in the learning technology industry in 2017, so far, is a spike in investments made to next-generation learning companies, particularly companies that are now offering sophisticated products based on cognitive science, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and neuroscience.”

One remarkably consistent trend in the last three years is the massive amount of funding going to edtech companies in Asia. Of the sixteen companies that garnered over $100 million in the first ten months of 2017, seven were in China. A significant amount of investment is now flowing to companies in Southeast Asia. There was also a dramatic spike in the number of deals made to educational technology companies in India.

In stark contrast, with the exception of a few relatively minor investments, edtech investments in Latin America were quite rare in 2017. Edtech startups in Africa are now attracting funding, particularly in the startup hubs in South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria. Investment activity is quite robust in Europe, particularly in the UK and the countries in the Nordic cluster. Yet, the US still accounts for the majority of investments.

“There is a myth that edtech investments in China are outpacing investments in the US. The evidence clearly shows otherwise.  The vast majority of learning technology investments in the first ten months of 2017 went to US companies,” says Adkins. “That said, it is striking that 78% of all investments made to learning technologies across the planet in the first ten months of 2017 went to companies in just two countries.”

About Metaari

Metaari (formerly Ambient Insight) is an ethics-based quantitative market research firm that identifies revenue opportunities for advanced learning technology suppliers. We track the learning technology markets in 122 countries. We have the most complete view of the international learning technology market in the industry. Metaari focusses solely on advanced learning technology research on products that utilize psychometrics, neuroscience, game mechanics, robotics, cognitive computing, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and augmented reality.

Media Contact: Sam Adkins, Metaari, 360-805-4298, sam@metaari.com

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SOURCE Metaari