In this article, we discuss the 10 Biggest Education Companies in the World.
State of the Education Industry
Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, online learning platforms were witnessing a hike in the number of subscribers due to the advancement in technology and increasing availability of the internet in third-world countries. The advent of COVID-19 gave an upsurge to the rising trend of online learning. As the COVID-19 pandemic pushed people into their homes, online learning platforms like Coursera Inc (NYSE:COUR) and edX, owned by 2U, Inc. (NASDAQ:TWOU), saw a sudden upsurge in the number of learners. In April 2020, edX recorded a 15-fold increase in the number of new learners.
In the first 11 months of 2020, the number of new registrations on edX went up by 161% compared to 2019. Similarly, Coursera Inc (NYSE:COUR) witnessed an unprecedented increase in the number of users as over 21 million individuals joined the online learning platform from mid-march to mid-September 2020. The pandemic-induced growth momentum in the global EdTech industry is likely to continue in the coming years.
Another major reason for the growing popularity of online education platforms is the ever-growing burden of education loans in countries like the U.S. In the United States, the amount of education loans has risen to $ 1.75 trillion. Average student loan debt had reached a record high of $40,904 by the end of 2021. Therefore, people prefer online learning as it is far less expensive than attending formal education institutes.
Global EdTech and smart classroom industry volume is projected to reach $259.07 billion by 2028 from $101.36 billion in 2021, at a Cumulative Average Growth Rate (CAGR) of 14.1% during 2022-2028. Moreover, according to the educational research firm HolonIQ, there will be 2 billion more learners in the world between 2022 and 2050. Considering these numbers one can assert that education companies like Udemy, Inc. (NASDAQ:UDMY), Chegg, Inc. (NYSE:CHGG), and Stride, Inc. (NYSE:LRN) are expected to record robust growth in the ongoing decade.
Photo by Compare Fibre on Unsplash
Our Methodology
We conducted thorough research on the global education industry to choose the 10 biggest education companies. We have considered only those companies that specialize in education services. Book publishers and the companies that do not have education services as their primary business are not included in our list. The companies are ranked on the basis of their valuation and market capitalization.
Biggest Education Companies in the World
10. 2U, Inc. (NASDAQ:TWOU)
Market Capitalization: $873.99M
2U, Inc. (NASDAQ:TWOU) lies at the bottom of our list of 10 biggest education companies in the world. 2U, Inc. (NASDAQ:TWOU) is an American education company that is engaged in providing high-quality online education to students from all over the world. 2U, Inc. (NASDAQ:TWOU) was founded in 2012 with its headquarters in Maryland. Within a decade the organization has groomed itself into a leading digital education provider worldwide. The organization offers different type of programs for different groups of learners. 2U, Inc. (NASDAQ:TWOU) has partnered with more than 230 universities and colleges to offer these courses. Their learning programs include boot camps, certificate programs, short courses, degree programs, and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs).
At present, 2U, Inc. (NASDAQ:TWOU) offers more than 4000 online courses including degree programs in dozens of subjects. Globally more than 44 million learners have used the services of 2U, Inc. (NASDAQ:TWOU) so far. During the financial year 2021, the annual revenue of 2U, Inc. (NASDAQ:TWOU) increased to $945.7 million with year-over-year growth of 22%.
9. Kahoot! ASA (OTCMKTS:KHOTF)
Market Capitalization: $1.28B
Kahoot! ASA (OTCMKTS:KHOTF) occupies the 9th position in of our list of 10 biggest education companies in the world. Founded in 2012, Kahoot! ASA (OTCMKTS:KHOTF) is a very popular game-based learning platform among children worldwide. The educational tools of Kahoot! ASA (OTCMKTS:KHOTF) are used in schools and other educational institutions to make learning a source fun for kids. There are more than one million ready-to-play games available on the official website of Kahoot! ASA (OTCMKTS:KHOTF). These learning games named “kahoots” can be accessed via Kahoot! app and web browser.
Kahoot offers a host of interesting applications for learners in its Kahoot! family of learning apps. You can homeschool your kids by using the applications such as ‘Kahoot! Poio Read’ and ‘DragonBox math apps’.
Moreover, Kahoot! Academy is a global community and a platform to share knowledge for all learners, creators, and teachers. You can interact with other learners and teachers besides getting access to a variety of ready-to-use learning content from Kahoot! Academy. Kahoot! ASA (OTCMKTS:KHOTF) claims that more than 9 million active educators from different countries are attached to its education platforms.
In 2021 Kahoot! ASA (OTCMKTS:KHOTF) reached more than 1.1 million paid subscriptions across all services. During the same year, more than 2 billion non-unique participants used the online platform. Total revenues and operating income of the Kahoot! Group jumped to $91.3 million in the financial year 2021, up 211% from $29.3 million during the financial year 2020.
Similarly the companies such as Udemy, Inc. (NASDAQ:UDMY), Chegg, Inc. (NYSE:CHGG), 2U, Inc. (NASDAQ:TWOU), and Stride, Inc. (NYSE:LRN) are gaining popularity in the world as people embrace homeschooling.
8. Stride, Inc. (NYSE:LRN)
Market Capitalization: $1.58B
Stride, Inc. (NYSE:LRN) stands at the 8th position in of our list of 10 biggest education companies in the world. Stride, Inc. (NYSE:LRN) is a Virginia-based education company that provides online education programs for students from Kindergarten to 12th grade besides offering pre-employment training and corporate development programs. The organization was founded in 1999 by the name of K12 Inc. and it changed its name to Stride, Inc. (NYSE:LRN) in 2020. The company offers an online school in the form of Stride K12 where children can learn at their own pace while staying in their place.
For fee-paying students Stride, Inc. (NYSE:LRN) has multiple platforms including K12 Private Academy, The Keystone School, and The George Washington University Online High School where they can enroll themselves in both full and part-time programs. In addition to this, Stride, Inc. (NYSE:LRN) offers Stride Career Prep to equip young graduates with the skills they need to enter their professional life.
Stride, Inc. (NYSE:LRN) witnessed strong growth in the financial year 2021 as its annual revenue jumped to $1,536.8 million from $1040.8 million in the preceding year.
7. Udemy, Inc. (NASDAQ:UDMY)
Market Capitalization: $1.735B
Udemy, Inc. (NASDAQ:UDMY) occupies 7th position in of our list of 10 biggest education companies in the world. Udemy, Inc. (NASDAQ:UDMY) is a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) provider with a consumer base of more than 52 million students. At present, the platform has more than 68 thousand instructors, 11,600 enterprise customers, and 196,000 courses available in more than 75 languages. Udemy, Inc. (NASDAQ:UDMY) was founded in 2010 with its headquarters in San Francisco. Currently, it has offices in Ireland, Turkey, Brazil, and India as well. The annual revenue of the organization was recorded as $515.66 million in the financial year 2021.
People from all age groups enroll themselves in courses on Udemy, Inc. (NASDAQ:UDMY) to enhance their professional skill set, secure a good job, and get promoted to a better position. On completion of some courses, the learner is also awarded a technical certificate. Moreover, Udemy, Inc. (NASDAQ:UDMY) also attracts companies from the corporate sector who want to create coursework for their employees.
6. Coursera, Inc. (NYSE:COUR)
Market Capitalization: $2.243B
Coursera Inc (NYSE:COUR) stands at the 6th position in of our list of 10 biggest education companies in the world. Founded by the two professors of Stanford University in 2012, Coursera Inc (NYSE:COUR) is now the leading Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) provider in the world. The organization collaborates with more than 200 organizations and universities to offer online courses, certifications, and degrees in a host of subjects. Some of the notable partners of Coursera Inc (NYSE:COUR) include the University of Illinois, Google, University of Michigan, Duke University, Imperial College London, IBM, University of Pennsylvania, and Stanford University.
The annual revenue of the company surged to $415 million in the financial year 2021, after posting year-over-year growth of 41%. Similarly the companies such as Udemy, Inc. (NASDAQ:UDMY), Chegg, Inc. (NYSE:CHGG), 2U, Inc. (NASDAQ:TWOU), and Stride, Inc. (NYSE:LRN) recorded robust growth during the financial year 2021.
5. Chegg, Inc. (NYSE:CHGG)
Market Capitalization: $2.34B
Chegg, Inc. (NYSE:CHGG) ranks 5th in our list of 10 biggest education companies in the world. Chegg, Inc. (NYSE:CHGG) is a California-based company that provides online education services to its users. Their services include online tutoring, buying, renting & selling books, writing tools, and assistance for test preparation. Chegg, Inc. (NYSE:CHGG) also helps students find good jobs, internships and scholarship opportunities.
Chegg, Inc. (NYSE:CHGG) was founded in 2005 and it was listed as a public-held company on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in 2013. The company is headquartered in California but it also has offices in Portland, Israel, Germany, and Ukraine.
Chegg, Inc. (NYSE:CHGG) has a market capitalization of $2.342 billion. The total number of subscribers of Chegg, Inc. (NYSE:CHGG) increased to 7.8 million in the financial year 2021 with year-over-year growth of 18%.
4. Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL)
Market Capitalization: $2.99B
Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL) stands at the 4th position in of our list of 10 biggest education companies in the world. Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL) is an EdTech company that helps its users learn more than 40 languages through game-like instructions. Users have to score points and complete timed challenges in language proficiency exams such as podcasts, quizzes, and interactive stories to reach new levels.
Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL) also offers paid services in which there are no advertisements. The content of the app is created mostly by language learning scientists, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning experts. Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL) is one of the most downloaded education applications on the Android app store and it is Android’s ‘Best of the Best’ application
Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL) helps its users improve vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation using spaced repetition. Founded in 2011 by Luis von Ahn and Severin Hacker, the company currently has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion. According to its shareholder letter, the organization’s annual revenue stood at $250.8 million in the financial year 2021 with year-over-year growth of 55%.
3. VIPKID
Valuation: $4.5B
VIPKID occupies the 3rd position in our list of 10 biggest education companies in the world. VIPKID is a Beijing based Chinese education company. The organization provides online English language learning platform for non-natives. VIPKID hires English language teachers from USA and Canada and connects them with millions of students in different countries.
1-on-1 live classes and the meticulously crafted curriculum make it easier for learners to master their reading, writing, listening comprehension, and English speaking skills on VIPKID.
Since the inception of the organization in late 2013, over 2 million online classes have been taught on this online learning platform. VIPKID has both Android and iOS applications for students as well as parents to make it convenient for them to book classes and access the learning material. Currently, the estimated annual revenue of VIPKID is $3.2 billion.
2. Yuanfudao
Valuation: $15.5B
Yuanfudao ranks 2nd in of our list of 10 biggest education companies in the world. It is a Beijing-based Chinese EdTech giant that provides online education services to students from primary to secondary levels. It is the largest online education service provider in China at this level. Yuanfudao’s unique features and competent teaching staff help students get home tutoring from anywhere and at any time.
Yuanfudao’s headquarter is in Beijing but it has established a number of teaching & research facilities in all major cities of China including Wuhan, Zhengzhou, Chengdu, Jinan, Tianjin, Chongqing, Changchun, and Hefei.
Yuanfudao has more than 30,000 employees. Over 200 million students have benefited from this start-up since it was launched in 2012.
1. Byju’s
Valuation: $22B
Byju’s stands at the top of our list of 10 biggest education companies in the world. Byju’s, formerly known as “Think & Learn Private Limited,” is a Bangalore-based Indian EdTech company. The company’s online platform, Student Hub, offers products and services that students usually need throughout their college. It helps them not only choose a college but also get academic assistance through graduation and beyond. Today, Byju’s is one of the most successful startups in the EdTech sector. It makes education an enjoyable task for students through its gamification process.
At present Byju’s has a valuation of $22 billion. In 2021, Byju’s bought the US reading service Epic, learning platform Great Learning, the US coding service Tynker, and Austria’s mathematics operator GeoGebra. Now the startup is in discussions to acquire U.S. EdTech giants Chegg Inc. or 2U Inc.
Currently, Byju’s has over 115 million registered students but buying Chegg or 2U will add additional tens of millions of students to its register.
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Disclosure: none. 10 Biggest Education Companies in the World is originally published on Insider Monkey.
