📣 Announcing the 2025 Global EdTech 1000 + HolonIQ's 2026 Global Education Outlook.

Hello 👋

The Global Education Outlook is HolonIQ's annual analysis on the future of education. The 2026 edition delivers 160+ pages of market data, investment analysis, and strategic insight on how education systems are responding to AI adoption, skills alignment, demographic pressure, and tighter capital conditions.

Education enters 2026 with clearer priorities. Education systems will certainly continue with AI experimentation but also move toward governed deployment, with institutions focused on practical gains in workflow efficiency, instructional quality, and learner support.

Skills (durable, foundational, and career-aligned) are now a procurement and policy filter across K–12, post-secondary, and workforce education. Expect capital to remain selective, favoring platforms that demonstrate measurable outcomes and value where possible, data and infrastructure advantage, and credible links between education and work. Governments will continue to prioritize vocational pathways, digital transformation and infrastructure gains, and early-career pipelines, while international education faces uneven movement shaped by visas, affordability, and geopolitics.

👉 Read more for education trends and the outlook for the year ahead, funding patterns and regional analysis. Customers can access the full report on the HolonIQ Platform or Request a Demo.

📣 Announcing the 2025 Global EdTech 1000

HolonIQ by QS announces the 2025 Global EdTech 1000. This analysis brings together the most promising learning and upskilling startups worldwide, selected from 10,000+ nominations and market scans using HolonIQ’s five-dimension startup scoring rubric. The result is a globally balanced cohort that highlights where innovation is concentrating and signaling what’s happening in the education market.

The data shows a market still anchored in K–12 (nearly 40%), with workforce learning now accounting for more than one-third of the cohort, reflecting sustained demand for job-relevant, short-cycle learning. Post-secondary (≈20%) continues to evolve around learner support, access, and career alignment. 

Notably, only 7% of companies are under three years old, pointing to a strengthening mid-stage pipeline rather than a wave of early experimentation. Consumer-led and modular business models continue to dominate, reinforcing founder focus on speed, capital efficiency, and clear outcome delivery.

Dive into the  analysis and charts here. If you are an Market Expert Subscriber, analyze the full list on our platform or request a demo.

Figure 1. 2025 EdTech 1000 - Distribution by Sector. 2020-2025

⭐ AI & Digital Innovation Spotlight

💻 Google.org committed over $5M to expand computer science education and introduced AI Quest during Computer Science Week to increase access to AI learning and support national digital-skills development efforts.

⚛️ New York State allocated $40M to expand nuclear energy and artificial intelligence training programs, supporting workforce development efforts and preparing residents for roles in emerging high-demand sectors.

🤖 Microsoft committed $17.5B to expand India’s AI infrastructure and deliver large-scale AI skills training, supporting national capacity building across technology, workforce development, and digital transformation initiatives.

🤝 Policy & Partnerships

🏫 La Trobe University partnered with OpenAI to expand access to ChatGPT Edu, integrate AI across academic programs, and support research through advanced computing resources as part of its institutional digital transformation strategy.

🤝 HCL Technologies formed a partnership with the University of Western Australia to support joint digital initiatives. Following the announcement, HCL’s stock price increased, reflecting market response to the collaboration.

💼 Commonwealth Bank of Australia partnered with OpenAI to deliver AI, cybersecurity, and digital-skills training to one million small businesses through a national program aimed at strengthening operational capability and supporting business growth.

💪 Power Moves & Funding

🚀 U2V launched a $70M fund to invest in companies from European universities for research-based ventures, strengthening pathways across the region’s innovation ecosystem.

🤖 Parallel, an edtech company, secured $20M after reporting that 98% of students using its virtual special education services met learning goals. 

🖥️ Oboe, an AI learning platform raised $16M to expand its personalize learning platform.

📚 Five Sigma led a $10M funding round for Uolo to expand its AI-driven learning platform across India’s 1.5 million schools.

💡 BoodleBox, a platform for collaborative AI in higher education, secured $5M to accelerate its growth.