Nordic EdTech News #95: 2023-09-04
Your Weeks 34 - 35 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 NEN. It’s amazing to think that this newsletter has now been running for four years! Thanks to everyone for subscribing and supporting its journey.
As OpenAI launches a new guide for teachers using ChatGPT in their classrooms, it’s great to see Nordic EdTech businesses leveraging the technology to transform their operations. Norway’s Curipod is a great example of the difference this can make - since building generative AI into their product, the business has expanded rapidly, landing 1,000 new users every day (Link). The company has seen its valuation increase by 500% in a year and they’ve now closed a $4.6m seed round, led by leading US investor, Reach Capital (Link). Congratulations to everyone at Curipod!
For publishers wrestling with these technological challenges, Denmark’s Praxis offers a compelling vision of what’s possible. They’ve launched a new digital marketing textbook with an integrated chatbot that explains key content themes and supports students to solve a problem rather than just answering it for them (Link).
Returning to funding news, Oppiva Invest has confirmed two new investments in leading Finnish EdTech solutions: Annie Advisor and Lyfta (Link). No additional, more specific details have been announced but their third and last funding round for 2023 is open until 2nd October. Full details here.
On the flip side, the time taken to raise capital has been identified as a key factor in Gleechi’s recently-announced bankruptcy (Link). The law firm handling the process is starting a sales process: “"It is a well-known company with an interesting product. So the interest is great.”
Still no conclusion to the all-cash private equity deal to take Kahoot back into private ownership. The investor group led by Goldman Sachs set itself the goal of getting 90% of existing shareholders to accept the offer. However less than 60% had accepted the offer by the original deadline, which has now been extended to 8th September (Link).
The attraction of the public markets is still evident for other players in our ecosystem. Shape Robotics have confirmed their plans to list on the main Danish stock market this year (Link). CEO André Fehrn confirmed: “We still have a clear expectation that the company can be listed on the main market at the end of Q4 in connection with our publication of figures for the 3rd quarter." In a pay-walled interview with ITWatch, Fehrn gave more insight into some of the challenges associated with rapid international growth - e.g. embedding a corporate vision across geographies and lots of travel.
Staying in Denmark, the Future Classroom Lab and CFU at Copenhagen University of Applied Sciences have announced the launch of SkoleGPT, “a free, secure, GDPR compliant, open source generative AI, targeting primary and secondary school teachers and students” (Link). The aim is to ensure that “school students in Denmark have the opportunity to use, analyse and reflect critically on the potentials and pitfalls of digital technologies.” The solution is clearly labelled as a “prototype” but I’ll be watching its future development with interest.
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
Datatilsynet confirms that the Chromebook decision has been further delayed and is not now due until "before the autumn holidays." (Link)
“A ban on screens at school is equivalent to a ban on tractors at the agricultural school.”
Famly has quadrupled its gross profit in three years and is now aiming to conquer the US market. (Link)
Gyldendal confirms H1 revenues are virtually unchanged from 2022 (DKK 339 million vs DKK 338 million) (Link) but warns against a race to the bottom for teaching resources, which “cannot avoid affecting quality” (Link).
Labster are finalists for both the best STEM/STEAM app & the best VR/AR app at the 2023 Tech Edvocate Awards. (Link)
According to CEO, Rasmus Holst, LMS365 will “achieve unicorn status, reach 100 million dollars in revenue, be profitable and be listed on the stock exchange” - all by 2027. (Link)
Apps like Woof are helping school children out of the mental health crisis. (Link)
News from Estonia
Apply for the EdTech co-creation programme run by EdTech Estonia and the University of Tartu by 10 September. (Link)
Märt Aro on The Good, The Bad And The Ugly Truth About Innovation In Education.
News from Finland
Meet Visa Saarinen, the Finnish maths teacher bringing the subject to life for students on TikTok. (Link)
Great to see EdTech so well represented in this list of Top Women From VC and Startup Ecosystem in Finland.
The newly established Konepaja high school has no exams and students study at a workplace one day a week. (Link)
New initiative brings together EdTech companies, research and education organisations, cities and end-users, enabling companies to test and develop their products and services in real user environments and get immediate expert feedback. (Link)
Olli-Pekka Heinonen, CEO of the International Baccalaureate organisation, on Pisa and the challenges facing Finland’s schools. (Link)
Good to see rapid expansion in the US for Kide Science in the last 12 months. (Link)
News from Iceland
Ásmundur Einar Daðason, Iceland’s Minister of Education and Children, has announced plans to develop guidelines for the use of smartphones in primary schools nationwide. (Link)
Bara tala is gaining traction with companies signing up to give “employees the opportunity to learn Icelandic in a simple and accessible way." (Link)
News from Latvia
STEM skills are critical for Latvia’s future growth and development. (Link)
Riga TechGirls, with the support of Google.org, develop Digital ABC, an online programme to develop employees’ digital skills. (Link)
News from Lithuania
bzn start highlights 9 top Lithuanian EdTech businesses. (Link)
More maths, new textbooks, updated educational content = a plan for the new school year.
Schools are encouraged to try and test “remote, mixed and hybrid education prototypes.” (Link)
MOKOSI joins SuperCharger Ventures’ new accelerator in Malta (Link) as CEO, Jurgita Jaruševičienė, takes over as Chairwoman of EdTech Lithuania. (Link)
Turing College confirms a new hiring partnership with Accenture. (Link)
News from Norway
Norwegian school pupils thrive in the classroom, but they receive too little academic support.
Oslo secondary schools can now sign up for assessment via long-term assignments rather than formal examinations. (Link)
Ludenso is teaming up with Express Publishing to enrich their English books with AR including audio, video, and 3D models. (Link)
Unifractal’s training videos will be used by 800 doctors and nurses across four hospitals to train them on the use of new medical equipment. (Link)
News from Sweden
Gothenburg municipality seeks a special dispensation to access additional government funding for textbooks. (Link)
Nine out of ten parents are positive that their children get digital skills in primary school, according to researchers from Tekniska Museet. (Link)
Increasing international coverage of Sweden’s “step back” towards textbooks.
As schools return, lots of municipality deals have been announced: Dugga, Infomentor, Lexplore, NE and StudyBee.
Albert announced H1 numbers showing increased net sales (SEK 98,539 k vs. 55,759 k in 2022) and improved EBITA (SEK -17,122 k vs. -34,564 k in 2022).
Lanterna Education launches IB virtual teachers solution, promising to fill any IB teaching vacancy within 48 hours. (Link)
Schools across 7 municipalities can now use the Skolon platform to access and buy digital learning materials and tools. (Link)
Strawbees Classroom is now free for all educators. (Link)
Thanks for reading this newsletter. If you think that your colleagues and wider network would find it useful, please share it with them!