Nordic EdTech News #94: 2023-08-21
Your Weeks 32 - 33 update from the Nordic and Baltic EdTech ecosystem
Nordic EdTech News is the best way to keep up with the EdTech ecosystem across 8 Nordic and Baltic countries. I curate it from company updates and a wide variety of international sources. It’s a passion project of mine - the rest of my time is spent advising / consulting the companies who lead the future of learning. If you’d like to find out more, drop me an email.
Hello, good morning and welcome to today’s newsletter. Things are feeling back to normal after the long Nordic summer, so pour another coffee and get updated on everything that’s happened over the last two weeks!
The notable acquisition / consolidation trend in EdTech continues apace with more deals to report in today’s newsletter. First off, Denmark’s LMS365, the leading AI-powered learning platform that’s integrated with Microsoft 365, announced it had acquired UK-based Weekly10, “a dynamic performance and engagement management company” (Link). According to LMS365, the integration with Weekly10 will “deliver an unparalleled suite of tools within Microsoft Teams and Viva, empowering learners and organizations to achieve unprecedented success.”
In related news, LMS365 have welcomed Microsoft veteran, David Willis, to their Board (Link). Willis has worked for Microsoft for 30 years and I’d suggest that his arrival is clear evidence of LMS365’s determination to continue their rapid growth trajectory.
Congratulations also to ILT Education who have acquired Aski Raski (Link). Aski Raski’s online tool for intensive reading training is used in 40% of all Norwegian schools. The acquisition is ILT’s fourth in the last 2 years and adds to their portfolio of solutions that help learners build core reading skills.
Although EdTech is “no longer a funding fave” (according to Crunchbase), Norway’s Pistachio, a cybersecurity training platform, has bucked the recent trend, raising €3.25m for growth (Link). The funding will help the business “revolutionize how companies deal with security threats.” Pistachio already has approx. 100 customers across 8 European countries and plans further expansion in European and North American markets.
NEN #93 highlighted the all-cash private equity deal to take Kahoot back into private ownership. The Board of Directors has now “unanimously resolved that it has recommended the shareholders of Kahoot! to accept the Offer” (Link). Separately, the business announced positive Q2 financial results: revenue up 14% yoy to $41.3 million, adjusted EBITDA up 60% yoy to $11.0 million and strong paid subscriptions growth (driven by corporate / professional users) to 1,365,000 by end Q2 2023.
The Danish Parliament has decided to allocate DKK 300 million annually from 2025 to vocational training (Link). DKK 400 million will be provided annually from 2030 onwards. This ties in with recent research showing that 45% of Danes want more practical lessons at the expense of traditional curriculum subjects (Link).
Two further articles to highlight. “Faulty screen time measures hamper national policies: here is a way to address it” is particularly relevant in the Nordics, given the ongoing debates on the topic across our ecosystem. And given the correct and increasing importance attached to evidence of EdTech impact, this call for national standards is a vital read.
Happy to highlight the launch of the Future of Education Consortium. Do check out this “dynamic community of forward-thinking educators, technologists, and visionaries, dedicated to shaping the future of education.”
Great to see 99math (Estonia) and Stella (Sweden) included in EU-Startups’ list of Europe’s 10 “most promising startups focusing on kids.”
I‘m delighted to be speaking at EdTech Denmark’s Digital Læringsdag in Copenhagen on 6th September and at Learning Conference (20 - 21 September) in Stockholm. Look forward to catching up with colleagues, friends and subscribers there!
As always, if you’ve got a story that you’d like me to include in a future issue of this newsletter, please email hello@10digits.org, tag me on Twitter or LinkedIn or use #nordicedtech / #balticedtech.
Thanks for reading, Jonathan
News from Denmark
New research shows that 54% of Danish students have used ChatGPT or another form of AI in their everyday lives and 19% have used it in an exam. (Link)
Fascinating insight into how one Danish educator is using AI and digital clones to transform her teaching. (Link)
Leading charitable foundations give DKK 50 million to develop a new centre for technology understanding in school. (Link)
Labster have developed a new Quiz Editor for their STEM simulations. (Link)
Over 370,000 courses have been made in Meebook since August 1. (Link)
Shape Robotics launched a new product – the mobile STEAM lab. (Link)
News from Estonia
kood Jõhvi have filled their slots for 2023, having received 3,600 applications from 92 countries. 40% of the applicants were female. (Link)
Praktikal has been named in Sifted’s list of 9 Estonian startups to watch. (Link)
Invest in Estonia names the Top 10 Estonian EdTech solutions making learning fun (Link).
News from Finland
Batch 5 of the Helsinki Education Hub’s Incubator Programme is now up and running. (Link)
The University of Helsinki’s first MOOC on the topic of Finnish education is now available for local and global audiences. (Link)
How Korea’s Sam Corporation tested its product in Finland before taking their technology to the world. (Link)
News from Iceland
Shifting Perspectives: From Learning Disabilities to Unique Learning Abilities. Interesting argument from Atlas Primer.
News from Latvia
Catch up on the recent Izaugsmes kod / Growth Code event which was “dedicated to modern educational solutions.” (Recording here)
News from Lithuania
Important update from the Lithuanian national EdTech Centre: Opportunities for developers of EdTech solutions: create, develop, get funding
Further detail from Monika Katkutė, founder and CEO of Teachers Lead Tech, on their plans to grow in the United States. (Link)
News from Norway
Concern raised that some popular digital learning resources contain advertising messages. (Link)
Capeesh has announced a NOK 2.65 million raise from Kilde, G64, and Gnist. (Link)
House of Math has been selected to join the 2023 Edventures Global Business Acceleration Fellowship. (Link)
Inspera has confirmed an agreement to add its tools to Proctorio’s suite of solutions to help prevent plagiarism. (Link)
Ludenso signs a new partnership with Books of Discovery, a US-based publisher of leading physical therapy textbooks. (Link)
Moso, whose software helps universities better mentor and supervise students, has raised more than NOK 4 million. (Link)
News from Sweden
AcadeMedia has acquired Winford College, the Dutch private school company. The deal adds another 10 schools and 600 students to their portfolio. (Link)
Albert launches Holy Owly, their recently-acquired language app, in Sweden. (Link)
Astrid’s AI assistant will coach startups at Fast Track Malmo as part of a new partnership. (Link)
CodeEasy 2.0 is now live. It’s tailored to various curricula and comes with an intuitive assessment and grading tool. (Link)
Gothia Kompetens acquires Komlitt to strengthen and broaden its position in competence and skill development. (Link)
Adrian Andersson, founder and CEO at Meitner, has appeared on the influential Framgångspodden. (Link)
Skolon’s Q2 financial report shows “increased growth, as well as a positive and strong cash flow.” (Link)
Thanks for reading this newsletter. If you think that your colleagues and wider network would find it useful, please share it with them!