July Tech Round-Up: The EdTech Edition

July 12, 2021 Kevin Waller

As students in the Northern Hemisphere head into their summer holidays - hopefully well vaccinated - we reveal how technology is transforming the education sector. Already a hot sector before COVID-19, EdTech is now sizzling, courtesy of the pandemic!

Enjoy this month’s edition, from all of us at North Ridge Partners

Original thinking from North Ridge Partners

Beyond Zoom: an overview of the EdTech sector and the rise of the EdTech unicorn

Can micro-learning deliver life-long employability? Will Gen-Tiktok demand the fast, easy digital experiences they expect in life when it comes to their education? Micro-learning businesses are betting they will

New this Month! The NRP Minicast: Three minutes with Fiona Robertson on life long learning

For those of you who played loud music while studying (we did!), here are some tunes to enjoy while reading - some of these songs are longer than a micro-learning course module!

Big Tech

All that sound and fury signified nothing in the end as Facebook gets a pass: Judge dismisses FTC and state antitrust complaints against Facebook

Jeff Bezos’ promise to make Amazon carbon neutral crept a little closer in 2020 - despite the company’s carbon emissions rising 19% as the pandemic drove a revenue surge

From ancient grudge break to new mutiny as the Houses of Redmond and Mountainview let slip the dogs of war: Microsoft and Google prepare to battle again after ending six-year truce

Gaming is a US$200bn market, in which a new acquisition is made every three days. And now Tencent has cemented its place atop the leaderboard: Tencent’s gaming investments pick up under pressure from ByteDance

Mergers and data deals come under scrutiny as Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Facebook are the subjects of a Biden order

Markets

Chinese market regulators hit local unicorns with antitrust fines: Didi, Alibaba, and Tencent survey the potential damage

It turns out fake news does pay, as Facebook bursts into the trillion dollar club: trading Facebook as its market cap tops $1tn (yes - that’s a trillion!!!) - now what?

After its users famously robbed from the rich (GameStop shorters) and gave to the poor (themselves), Robinhood files to go public

Hong Kong logistics startup Lalamove files for a US IPO – and unicorn status

Online grocery newcomers are on the nose with US investors: Dingdong Maicai downsizes US IPO by more than 70% after MissFresh flops

Asia Tech News

Chinese tech giants hit turbulence with new data regulations: China’s strengthening grip over data collection may hinder its burgeoning mobility sector

Singapore data centre group invests a billion in Japan: SG Princeton Digital to invest $1bn in Japanese data centre

In a case of commitment creates opportunity, Malaysia is quickly becoming a cybersecurity hub

Disruption is accelerating in the payments world: Kelvin Phua tell us how the global pandemic is changing the way we pay

Blockchain skeptics might think this is bananas: Gorilla Mobile’s blockchain-powered offering causes rival telcos to take note

Some Other Bricks in the Wall - EdTech Links

Tiger Global leads a series B funding round into Quizizz: EdTech startup raises $31.5m

China’s EdTech investments may outstrip the US, but Chinese upstarts are still looking West for liquidity, with 17 Education & Technology and Spark Education both filing for IPOs in the USA

With the pandemic disrupting global education markets, new global data reveals education technology’s impact on learning

Trading on diversity in the talent wars: Microverse wants to educate overlooked coding talent from developing regions

KKR acquires a majority stake in Kiwi-based online education company Education Perfect, valuing the company at $319m

Stuff we found interesting:

The first driverless taxis hit the streets in China: Baidu to deploy 1,000 robotaxis over the next 3 years

Economists push EVs as a solution to carbon emissions: top economists call for budget measures to speed the switch to electric cars

Grifters gonna grift: new-age Internet platforms are breeding grounds for financial crimes. Here’s how to tackle them

I don’t think this is what they had in mind: why antitrust actions against Alphabet may be good for investors

Not so merry, men: Robinhood might owe you money: trading platform to pay $70 million for regulatory failings

Distantly Emerging Tech

Far out beyond the horizon, the technologies that will disrupt the next decade of business are starting to emerge. Here’s three you haven’t heard of yet:

And you thought quantum computing was clever

Build, fund and exit your technology company with North Ridge Partners

North Ridge Partners works with technology companies across the Asia Pacific to achieve transformational outcomes through advice on strategic positioning, raising third party funding, M&A, and direct investment. We’re experienced deal-makers who have built, run, and sold numerous technology companies.