AI in EdTech. 3 examples of companies that used the potential of artificial intelligence | AI in business #27

EdTech stands for education technology. It encompasses how new devices and methods feature in the process of acquiring knowledge at all levels – from kindergarten to higher education and adult education. But how is the potential of AI in EdTech exploited by companies to create new solutions and optimize existing ones?

What is EdTech?

The EdTech field includes projectors that display videos for classroom use, virtual labs and interactive educational games. But it also includes training platforms that enable the acquisition of practical professional skills in virtual reality (VR), where one can take online courses.

According to an August 2020 report by HolonIQ, the EdTech industry is expected to reach $404 billion by 2025, up 21% from 2022. The report indicates that the growth of the EdTech industry is supported by:

• Growing interest in online education – due to increasing access to devices and the Internet, the growth in popularity of online education will increase in the coming years around the world, especially in places with limited access to stationary forms of education,
• Developments in technology – artificial intelligence, machine learning and virtual reality are opening up new possibilities in education, allowing not only greater technical accessibility but also automatic translation into all languages,
• Demographic changes – an increase in the school-age population in developing countries is driving demand for education.

The HolonIQ report predicts that the greatest growth in the EdTech industry will be in developing countries such as China, India and Brazil. In these countries, the EdTech market is expected to reach $234 billion, $112 billion and $60 billion, respectively, by 2025.

How is AI changing EdTech?

Educational technologies make extensive use of the capabilities of artificial intelligence – from selecting course topics to guiding the learning process to evaluating the results. Using EdTech platforms, it is also possible to learn a lot about artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence is therefore playing an increasingly important role in EdTech by introducing:

• personalized learning– AI can analyze learning progress and tailor learning materials to the user’s level and learning style. Equally important, AI technologies help keep learning regular and keep us motivated,
• virtual assistants – AI-based chatbots, including even ChatGPT, can feature as learning tools and answer follow-up questions to identify problems and improve the learning process, which is especially important during employee training,
• automatic translation – AI can translate educational materials into different languages, facilitating learning for students from all over the world,
• virtual and augmented reality – VR simulations and the addition of AI-enabled augmented reality (AR) elements to learning allow interactive learning by doing, so that you can, for example, learn how to operate specialized machinery without leaving home.

3 education companies that have successfully employed AI

EdTech companies applying AI offer their solutions to customers (B2C) or institutions (B2B) operating on a subscription model. The most successful are:

• Duolingo, a popular language learning platform, is using AI to personalize lessons and language tests. Working with OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, Duolingo has introduced two new features: Role Play, which is a linguistic play in a real conversation with a native speaker, and Explain my Answer, which generates an explanation of grammar rules when a learner makes a mistake. They are available in the new Duolingo Max subscription plan for English speakers who learn French or Spanish using Apple devices.

  Duolingo has more than 500 million users worldwide and offers more than 100 language courses. The success of integrating AI into Duolingo’s business plans is evidenced by the numbers: the company generated $369.7 million in revenue in 2022, an increase of 47.3% over the previous year.

  Source: Duolingo

• Coursera – one of the EdTech giants with 82 million learners worldwide, Coursera’s customer base grew by more than 70% in 2020 alone. It’s an e-learning platform offering access to courses prepared by major companies and 275 prestigious universities. When starting your adventure with Coursera, you need to fill out an initial questionnaire. Then the platform, using the AI-based CourseMatch tool, proposes increasingly relevant materials. And it provides a personalized learning path for each course.

  Another innovation of CourseMatch is that it allows it to match academic courses offered by universities in desktop form with the content of online courses offered in the Coursera catalog. Another step in the development of artificial intelligence concerns machine learning to translate courses into different languages. Coursera also offers courses and certificates in artificial intelligence.

  Source: Coursera

• Century Tech – is a learning platform for schools and businesses honored as a Technology Pioneer at the World Economic Forum that features AI to deliver flexible, continuously adaptable learning paths for students and innovative assessments that help teachers better understand their students’ potential. Century Tech includes machine learning and neuroscience to identify knowledge gaps and customize content and pace of learning for each student. Century Tech is currently present in more than 2,000 schools in 50 countries.

  Source: Century Tech

Summary

Creating a company in the EdTech sector that proposes AI solutions not only meets today’s educational needs but also opens up broad business prospects. Against the backdrop of rapid growth in the value of the EdTech market, which is expected to reach $404 billion by 2025, investment in AI is not only fashionable but also strategic. Indeed, artificial intelligence is becoming an integral part of the offerings of educational institutions and companies offering educational applications. What’s more, its role goes beyond technological aspects and is beginning to influence changes in the approach to education itself, from the way assessment is done to the approach to interdisciplinary teaching.

AI technologies offer tools that deal with mass personalization, scalability and data analysis in ways that traditional educational methods cannot. This is a space where innovative start-ups can not only gain a competitive advantage but also influence the future of education on a global scale. By addressing pressing needs, from bridging language barriers to creating interactive and engaging learning environments, companies applying AI in EdTech have the opportunity to become leaders in an industry worth hundreds of billions of dollars. In this context, the application of AI in EdTech is not only an answer to current challenges but also a way to build solid, future-proof value for investors and users.

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