1、November 2022 Sturti/Getty ImagesEducation PracticeFive trends to watch in the edtech industryThe adult edtech sector is evolving as quickly as it is growing.Significant changes are taking place in M&A opportunities,geographic hotspots,user demands,and the enterprise market.by Saurabh Sanghvi and Ma

2、rius WesthoffOver the past couple of years,weve seen rapid growth in the education-to-employment segment of the edtech sector that serves adult learners.Valuations for these education-to-employment edtech firms have had a roller-coaster ride,as existing companies attract a huge influx of capital,tho

3、usands of new players enter the field,and investors question what scalable and profitable business models look like in the space.There are now dozens of edtech“unicorn”start-ups with valuations of more than$1 billion.Here are five things we see happening in edtech that sector players may want to con

4、sider as they plan their next moves:1.Capital inflows are higher than everThanks to rapid technological change and enterprise digitization,many companies are looking to continuously upskill their workforce.At the same time,broadband access has become more affordable,and distance-education technologi

5、es have become more advanced.These developments have helped the edtech sector boom;venture capitalists(VCs)invested$20.8 billion in the edtech sector globally in 2021.1 Thats more than 40 times the amount they invested in 2010.While public valuations have recently cooled,private companies are still

6、raising capital at double-digit revenue multiples.VCs continue to flock to edtech because professors,administrators,students,and employees have grown more comfortable with education technology during the pandemic.We believe these habits are here to stay and that online education is becoming the new