By Eilif Trondsen, Ph.D., Project Leader, Nordic EdTech Network project, Silicon Vikings

 

Nordic EdTech Landscape

Before I present the country-based results of our analysis, it is important to again stress that these numbers and conclusions are based on subjective assessment of various pieces of information collected so far in our project, including analyzing the websites of the companies. And, as noted earlier—even though many of the websites were excellent—many lacked explicit and clear indication of which market segments companies were focusing on and which specific products and services they were offering to the targeted market segments, especially in terms of the category definitions (T/P, DTC, K12, etc) we use in our project. So, we often had to deduce or infer based on what was said and presented on the websites, or in other information that has been available to us.

The next step in our work is to undertake a survey of Nordic edtech companies on our lists, where we give companies a chance to give us their own perspective of what segments they serve (and, hopefully, the relative importance of the various segments they serve), as well as which of our products and services categories they offer. Once we have this data it will be interesting to compare the two sets of data—our interpretation based on limited data, and the companies’ own view of their market presence/footprint.

Below, the findings for each country are presented but here are a few of the similarities and differences we have found so far among the countries:

• Market Segment Focus:
  • With the exception of Iceland, which constitutes a very small percent of the total number of companies—13 out of 296—the relative focus of edtech companies in the other countries is quite similar, but with Swedish companies having the highest percentage (75%) of the country’s edtech companies focusing on the K12 segment.
  • Sweden also leads (with 35%), in front of Norway (28%). in its focus on HE.
  • Finland has the greatest focus on C/G (with 42%) of all the countries.
• Product and Service Focus
  • Iceland, Finland and Sweden rank 1rst, 2^nd and 3^rd in terms of relative percentage of edtech companies in their country focusing on content and curriculum, and Iceland and Denmark are number 1 and 2 in relative percentage of companies in their country that offer ELT administrative platforms.
  • Very few companies in any of the countries offer market places for learning resources.
  • Generally a low percentage of companies in each country offers edtech consulting services, with the exception of Finland (with 48%), followed by Denmark (34%) and Norway (31%). But we realize that many companies may offer such services, perhaps more “bundled” with the products or other services they offer, without specifically and explicitly stating that they offer consulting or advisory services.
  • Sweden and Finland are number 1 and 2 (with 33% and 30% of companies) offering products meeting Instruction Needs and Tools for teachers or students.

Denmark

Denmark differs from Norway, Sweden and Finland by not yet having much of an active edtech ecosystem organization like we have found in the form of Oslo Edtech Cluster (and its various activities and government funding to stimulate Norwegian “edupreneuring”), EdTech Sweden, and the first Nordic edtech accelerator of xEDU in Helsinki and the many various edtech initiatives of the Finnish government and private industry. The initial list of Danish companies we had contained 54 companies, but we concluded that 22 companies seem to not meet the criteria we have set in the project (a 41% reduction, somewhat higher than the Finnish deletion percent, 34%)—at least based on information we currently have (and we will be happy to reinstate companies that provide us with information that show they are indeed “edtech” companies that are “live and kicking”). So the revised list of Danish edtech companies now contains 32 companies, or considerable smaller than what we have for our Norwegian and Swedish lists (and far fewer than the Finnish list).

Here is what we found concerning market segments served by Danish edtech companies:

Segment	T/P	DTC	K12	HE	C/G
Percent*	6%	21%	56%	19%	31%

 

In terms of product and service focus among Danish edtech companies, here is the distribution across our five categories:

Categories	Curriculum/Content (& specific learning)*	Instructional Needs/Tools	Learning and Administrative platforms	Marketplaces for learning resources	Edtech Consulting Services
Percent*	50% (28%)	22%	53%	6%	34%

 

Here is a small sample of the interesting edtech companies in Denmark:

• Labster — http://www.labster.com/ — Laboratory simulations for educators to empower their STEM students
• Mentorix — http://www.eurekos.com/ — Eurekos is the Next Generation Digital Learning Environment (NGDLE) designed for training providers and higher education
• Serious Games Interactive — http://seriousgames.dk/ — research-based developer of games, simulations, and virtual worlds
• UniWise — http://www.uniwise.dk/ — Consultant and software company focused on creating intelligent solutions for educational and academic organizations
• WriteReader – https://writereader.com/ — Unique digital learning platform where children from age 3–10 can learn to read by writing and publish small digital books
• Area9/Area9 Learning — http://area9learning.com/ — The focus of Area9 is on adaptive learning (See our blog post on this topic http://bit.ly/1mBFTHi) attracted the attention and interest of the very large, US publishing company McGraw Hill and according to Area9’s press release: “In February 2014 Area9 and McGraw-Hill Education joined forces through a large acquisition of Area9’s educational company and most of Area9’s educational activities. Two new companies rose out of this acquisition: Area9 Labs was established to continue to be a powerhouse for cutting edge research in educational technologies, and Area9 Learning.”
• Clio Online — http://www.clioonline.dk/ — This leading Danish edtech company has also attracted interest of the publishers/media world, with the result that Bonnier Business Press has acquired the majority interest in Clio Online, apparently with the interest in leveraging Clio Online’s learning and education capabilities into the corporate arena.

The last two bullets point to a topic that we hope to return to in the work of the Nordic EdTech Network project, namely what role Nordic (and other) media and publishing companies are likely to play in the future of Nordic edtech industry. These companies have the advantage of already having established roles and large resources targeting the ELT sector, and it should not be surprising that they now have significant, and growing, interest in small, innovative, and nimble edtech companies. Large US media and publishing companies have, at least so far, had a mixed record of success with edtech so it will be interesting to see if Nordic media and publishing companies can have more success on this front.

Finland

As noted above, Finland—for a variety of reasons (some related to its international reputation of its educational system due to being ranked so high in the PISA evaluations for a number of years)—has long had a much greater focus and attention on the export and internationalization potential of the ELT sector than other Nordic countries. Although some of the Tekes and Sitra ELT-focused programs have now ended, the rise of xEDU as (so far) the only Nordic edtech accelerator (which now has formed a strategic partnership with Edtech Sweden and thereby raising its ambitions to tap the whole Nordic region) points to Finland continuing its strong efforts in the education and learning sector and in building a strong edtech sector. Since the focus and interest of our project is on edtech, we have—as noted earlier—trimmed our initial list of Finnish edtech companies significantly, but we still have 142 companies on our current list, or still nearly three times the numbers of companies on our updated lists for Norway and Sweden (but we know we are still missing many Swedish companies and hope to add missing companies shortly).

 

Here is what we found concerning market segments served by Finnish edtech companies:

Segment	T/P	DTC	K12	HE	C/G
Percent*	7%	33%	58%	26%	42%

 

In terms of product and service focus among Finnish edtech companies, here is the distribution across our five categories:

Categories	Curriculum/Content (& specific learning)*	Instructional Needs/Tools	Learning and Administrative platforms	Marketplaces for learning resources	Edtech Consulting Services
Percent*	63% (8%)	30%	79%	5%	48%

 

Here is a small sample of the interesting edtech companies in Finland:

• Claned Group Oy — http://www.claned.com/ —Versatile, next-generation learning and collaboration platform with advanced analytics function
• Diesel21/EdVisto – https://www.f6s.com/edvisto — Collaborative platform for teachers and students to organize the learning in subject- or theme-based projects, where groups of students learn by co-creating, remixing and sharing video stories.
• Kokoa Agency – http://www.kokoaagency.com/ — Professional service agency supporting digitalization of education
• LudoCraft Oy – http://www.ludocraft.com/ — Provides gamification and game development services for education, business or entertainment.
• Muuvit Health and Learning Oy – http://www.muuvit.com/ — Platform for creating customized programs for a healthy lifestyle and joy of learning.
• Nordic Edu Oy – nordicedu.com –– Constructive gaming and inspiring education platform
• Scool Oy – http://scool.fi/ — Makes change happen through innovative education formats and by creating and seeking ambitious, validated education ideas.
• Seppo – http://seppo.io/en/ — Authoring tool for creating educational games and enabling 21^st century skills
• Skhole – http://www.skhole.fi/ –– Platform for nursing education and in-house training for healthcare professionals
• Tabletkoulu Oy – https://www.tabletkoulu.fi– Digital eLearning/Publishing company that has developed an IT system infrastructure that combines pedagogically designed learning material and a learning platform with an innovative and agile publishing concept
• TeacherGaming LLC – http://teachergaming.com/ — Company with mission to expand game-based learning into classrooms worldwide
• Team Action Zone Oy – http://www.taz.fi/ — ActionTrack is a location- and context-aware learning platform that supports any pedagogical approach
• MusiClock – http://mymusiclock.com/ — Company provides a new approach to evaluations that enables self, peer, group and guardian evaluations in an easily applicable environment
• Qridi — http://www.qridi.com/ — Platform makes it possible to evaluate 21^st century skills

 

Iceland

With a population of only about 325,000, compared to about 5-6 million for Norway, Finland and Denmark, and almost 10 million in Sweden, the list of Icelandic edtech companies will obviously be considerably shorter than those of its Nordic neighbors. And while attention and interest on edtech is reportedly growing in Iceland, so far no formal edtech ecosystem initiatives—like that of Oslo Edtech Cluster or Edtech Sweden—yet exists in Iceland (as in Denmark). But like its other Nordic countries, despite being a very small country, Iceland has given rise to a global gaming company, CCP, that created EVE Online and other popular online games, serving millions of users. So being small does not mean you can’t produce world-class, global competitors in any given industry, so Iceland may surprise the world (just like its soccer team did in the recent European Championship!).

In edtech, the 13 companies currently on our list show the following results (including a relatively higher focus on younger children than the edtech companies in the other Nordic countries), but less focus on corporate and government sector, for instance:

 

Segment	T/P	DTC	K12	HE	C/G
Percent*	23%	46%	77%	23%	15%

 

In terms of product and service focus among Icelandic edtech companies, here is the distribution across our five categories (with a high focus on content and curriculum, for instance):

Categories	Curriculum/Content (& specific learning)*	Instructional Needs/Tools	Learning and Administrative platforms	Marketplaces for learning resources	Edtech Consulting Services
Percent*	77% (54%)	8%	92%	0%	8%

 

Here is a small sample of the interesting edtech companies in Iceland:

• InfoMentor — http://mentor.is/ — Company has strong learning platform and functionality that has gained strong customer base in a number of countries
• Radiant Games — http://www.radiantgames.is – Startup company crafting innovative coding games that engage through active participation
• Skema — http://www.skema.is/ — Focused on building problem solving and emotional skills, as well as being inducive to collaboration and innovation.
• Calmus — http://www.calmus.is/ — Innovative tool for musical compositions that allows you to create and influence music in real time
• Mimi Creations — http://www.mimibooks.is/english/ — Company specializes in the production and publishing of animated material to enhance and improve the development of speech and communication for all toddlers.

 

Norway

Interest in edtech in Norway has been growing steadily, especially since the establishment of Oslo Edtech Cluster (located in Startup Lab at the University of Oslo). The cluster, led by Hege Tollerud, is organizing a variety of events and helping generate interest by the press in Norwegian edtech startups. And the significant success and rapid growth of companies like Kahoots! has helped generate interest and excitement in Norwegian edtech. The edtech industry also benefits from the growing interest in entrepreneurship and innovation in Norway (including growing amount of funding for startups), and the growing interest in catching up with Sweden and Finland which have led Norway in terms of number of startups and amount of early stage funding for startups. Intra-Nordic competition in edtech—like in sports—is healthy and good, but as knowledge and insight about the edtech industry and companies in each country grow, we will also hopefully see growing collaboration as well, and perhaps more cross-border mergers and acquisitions, another sign of a dynamic marketplace.

 

Here is what we found so far concerning market segments served by Norwegian edtech companies:

Segment	T/P	DTC	K12	HE	C/G
Percent*	7%	22%	56%	28%	30%

 

In terms of product and service focus among Norwegian edtech companies, here is the distribution across our five categories (with a high focus on content and curriculum, for instance):

Categories	Curriculum/Content (& specific learning)*	Instructional Needs/Tools	Learning and Administrative platforms	Marketplaces for learning resources	Edtech Consulting Services
Percent*	35% (11%)	15%	54%	7%	31%

 

Here is a small sample of the interesting edtech companies in Norway:

• WeWantToKnow— http://wewanttoknow.com/ — The company is creating intuitive and educational learning tools, including acclaimed math-focused product, Dragonbox.
• Attensi – attensi.com – Focusing on development of advanced simulations products for corporate learning and training
• Creaza – http://www.creaza.com/ — The company has extensive experience in developing video-based products/tools for schools.
• Kahoot – http://www.getkahoot.com/ — Perhaps the Nordic edtech company with the fastest growth, especially in North America, focusing on engaging, game-based products
• Avantador/Skooler – http://www.avantador.no – A startup hoping to disrupt the LMS market with a new type of product that will leverage Microsoft work and productivity platforms and tools
• Kikora – kikora.com – Next-generation learning tool for mathematics instruction, leveraging Web browsers.
• EdTech Foundry – edtechfoundry.no – a Startup factory for learning technology—working with and advising clients on next-generation digital learning technology.
• Inspera Assessment – http://www.inspera.com/ — Inspera Assessment support the entire assessment lifecycle and the assessment workflow for academic and administrative users.
• Sarepta Studio — http://www.sareptastudio.com – Game-based learning, mobile learning, simulations, game design, and 3d visualization for work environment and education.

 

Sweden

Stockholm is arguably the hottest startup environment in the Nordic region right now (A Norwegian entrepreneur said that comparing Swedish and Norwegian entrepreneurial environments were like comparing the British Premier League to the Norwegian soccer league!), even though challenges and issues exist. Challenges include shortage and cost of housing for the growing number of entrepreneurs, especially in Stockholm, and need to find solutions (but similar, but perhaps less pressing, challenges exist in most Nordic and other European cities). In view of the vibrant entrepreneurial environment in Stockholm and other cities in Sweden, it is not surprising to see growing interest and activity in edtech, and a growing number of Swedish edtech startups gaining presence in the global market (similar to the Norwegian Kahoots!), including some on the list shown below.

The launch of Edtech Sweden (led by Jannie Jeppesen from Rektorsakademien Utveckling, and with Nils Carlberg working on an industry mapping project for Edtech Sweden), and its advocacy and promotion role—including helping getting edtech more attention among politicians and policy makers—has no doubt helped stimulate interest in Swedish edtech and in building a vibrant Swedish edtech community and ecosystem. Edtech Sweden helps organize events and conferences as well as competitions with awards for leading companies, all of which adds to the interest and excitement in the industry.

Very recently, an announcement was made about the Finnish edtech accelerator xEDU (in Helsinki) forming a strategic partnership with Edtech Sweden. This agreement should produce mutual benefits, as xEdu will now tap into Edtech Sweden’s know-how on the Swedish market, both in terms of market implementation and its investor network. Sweden has a number of edtech companies in the phase of rapid scaling (into regional and global markets), so teaming up with Edtech Sweden will help xEDU get a larger number of strong growth candidate companies into its accelerator. The result will be more Swedish (and hopefully, later, other Nordic) edtech startups joining future cohorts at xEDU. This should strengthen the “competitive muscle” of these edtech players and improve their readiness to enter global edtech markets. The training and networking opportunities available via xEDU should also help strengthen Nordic edtech companies, not only in making stronger business plans, but also gaining greater confidence and presentation capabilities when facing demanding investors—including competing for potential venture funding in Silicon Valley (where most venture funding for edtech exists).

 

Here is what we found concerning market segments served by Swedish edtech companies:

Segment	T/P	DTC	K12	HE	C/G
Percent*	7%	46%	75%	35%	29%

 

In terms of product and service focus among Swedish edtech companies, here is the distribution across our five categories (with a high focus on content and curriculum, for instance):

Categories	Curriculum/Content (& specific learning)*	Instructional Needs/Tools	Learning and Administrative platforms	Marketplaces for learning resources	Edtech Consulting Services
Percent*	60% (13%)	33%	71%	7%	7%

 

Here is a small sample of the interesting edtech companies in Sweden:

• Coursio — coursio.com — Simplified cross-platform service for managing and interacting around a variety of educational materials—and redefining educational publishing
• Digiexam — digiexam.se – Company’s mission is to make digital examinations simple, easy to use, and available for everyone
• Digilär — digilär.se – Company plans to be global leader in development of educational materials for elementary and secondary education.
• Eeducation Albert — mralbert.se – Company wants to lead the world in applying Artificial intelligence to teaching
• Furhat Robotics — furhatrobotics.com – The research intensive startup sees significant opportunities in using robotics in teaching and learning, aligning with growing interest in “maker movement” (and building things).
• Mathleaks — mathleaks.se – The company’s app enables faster and easier learning of mathematics, and aligns with textbook contents.
• Mawu AB — http://www.blixtjakten.se/ — The company takes a gamified approach to clarifying and visualizing learning activities, making the learning journey more enjoyable and engaging.
• Quirkbot — quirkbot.com – Quirkbot is developing technological tools and educational content to help schools bring the maker movement to their classrooms.
• Skolon — https://www.skolon.com — Skolon is a unique gathering place and distribution platform for all types of educational tools created for a digital educational world both for teachers and students.

Concluding Observations

In June, 2017, at the end of the Nordic EdTech Project, we will submit a final report that will contain our latest information and data, but even then make it clear that we can only provide a time-specific snapshot of the Nordic EdTech landscape. When we get the needed information that confirms that a company is indeed an edtech company, according to our criteria, we will add it to our list and also hope to add to our website company profiles designed to provide a snapshot that will be useful to investors.

But it is our hope that others will continue our work after our project has been completed—including seeing growing ecosystem development like we are now seeing in Finland, Sweden and Norway, and will hopefully see soon in Denmark and Iceland—and update the information and data about the growing Nordic edtech industry. A growing need also exists for undertaking additional research on certain issues and trends—such as what we have seen EdSurge undertake in Silicon Valley over the last year. We are already in dialog with various academics across the Nordic region with strong (and growing) interest in edtech, and we hope they and others will start new research projects and encourage their students to do research on various issues and developments of the Nordic edtech ecosystem.

Finally, we hope to see growing dialog and discussion—both in the Discussion Forum of our Nordic EdTech Network project website as well as in other fora (including conferences such as the World Learning Forum 2017, scheduled to take place in Kristiansand during June 7-9, 2017)—about current and future issues and activities, and that this dialog and discussion will continue and grow at future events that will focus on the emergent Nordic Edtech industry.