According to a recent report on the Edutech industry, New York City is poised to become a leader in this fast growing sector. What is Edutech? Edutech is an emerging sector that applies innovative technology to deliver learner-centric, personalized educational methods.
How big is the industry?
- Educational spending. Accounting for 7.6% of US GDP, educational spending is an important US growth industry. Though still a nascent sector, Edutech accounts for 2.5% of spending by US educational institutions.
- Higher education. The US is a leader in higher education with 40% of the top 50 universities located in the US.
- Growing US market. The total US Edutech market was $38.2 billion in 2008:
- Adult and continuous learning, at $13.1 billion, is estimated to grow at a rate of 9%.
- The K-12 Edutech market is estimated at $5.5 billion.
- Early childhood education currently represents the smallest market share at $1.6 billion.
The New York area was cited as having a few key advantages such as:
- Proximity to a large customer base of educational institutions and a large student population. New York City has the largest public school system, with 1.1 million students in nearly 1,700 schools. It is also home to the largest post-secondary population, with 626,000 students in 100 higher education institutions in the metropolitan area.
- An industry ecosystem that includes established educational publishing companies supplemented by a growing technology corridor.
- A supportive policy and programmatic environment, given the New York City Department of Education’s pioneering in innovation and measurement-based progress in schools.
The education industry has been in the spotlight for the last couple of years with the cost of tuition rising across the country. Young innovators are out there trying to disrupt the space by bringing quality learning experiences to students more efficiently.
Look at San Kim and his company ShowMe which helps anyone teach anything. The platform has seen over 1.5 million lessons created and has raised just under $1 million.
Or 2tor, which was founded by Jeremy Johnson to help bring degree programs online and has raised over $90 million.
Young people in New York are already jumping on the opportunities in this field but it’s just the beginning.
