[StartupRecipe] Korean Edtech Investment Plummets in 2025

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#Weekly Funding Overview

#FUNDING

#TREND ANALYSIS

Korean Edtech Investment Plummets in 2025

According to Startup Recipe investment data, domestic edtech sector investments reached only KRW 51.6 billion as of October 2025. The market, which showed signs of recovery in 2024 with KRW 119.4 billion—a 43% year-over-year increase—is contracting sharply once again. The current trajectory suggests 2025 figures may fall below even 2023 levels of KRW 83.1 billion.

The most concerning trend is the absence of large-scale investments. While I Hate Flying Bugs secured the year’s largest funding round at KRW 21 billion through October, this pales in comparison to 2024’s major deals: Flexcil (KRW 50 billion), Elice Group (KRW 20 billion), and Class 101 (KRW 15 billion). With only one company raising over KRW 10 billion, the market has clearly diminished in scale.

Analysis of disclosed investment amounts reveals that Codeit (KRW 9.8 billion, pre-IPO), Future schole(KRW 5 billion, Series A), and Ieumgil HR (KRW 5 billion) represent the mid-tier investments, while most others fall below KRW 5 billion. Over half of all funding rounds have undisclosed amounts, typically indicating smaller deal sizes.

By investment stage, early-stage companies (seed through Series A) dominate the landscape. Conversely, growth-stage investments at Series B and beyond, or large pre-IPO rounds, are virtually nonexistent except for Codeit. This distribution signals that investors have yet to identify proven growth models in the edtech market. While early-stage investment continues, the absence of growth-stage funding indicates these initial investments are failing to scale up.

AI technology integration, which was identified as a key investment driver in 2023 and 2024 analyses, has lost its effectiveness in 2025. Companies promoting AI capabilities include Vibeon Corp. (AI-based edtech, KRW 3 billion), Hypernova (AI telephone English service), and Korea Education Partners (education-specialized multimodal language model), but none have attracted remarkable investment levels. The persistent challenge since 2023, a shortage of edtech startups demonstrating profitability, continues to make it difficult to secure growth-stage investment based on technological differentiation alone.

Examining funded companies reveals a notable shift toward B2B solutions and niche market targeting. Representative examples include Gongdo (student record management), Ieumgil (corporate education, KRW 5 billion), DoubleM Social Company (health education simulation), and TG Society (driving school platform, KRW 2.8 billion). Mass-market B2C models such as adult hobby education platforms and childcare platforms—which drove the previous boom period—have virtually disappeared.

Based on current trends, total 2025 investment is projected to fall below KRW 100 billion, returning to 2023 levels when the investment environment was at its worst. Edtech’s recovery has lagged behind other sectors in terms of capital raised, making optimistic expectations for next year difficult. However, long-term growth potential remains considerable given increasing lifelong learning demand, advancing AI technology, and the education market projected to reach $10 trillion by 2030. Still, the downturn is expected to persist until companies emerge that can demonstrate sustainable profitability.

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