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Language learning app Cakap bags $10 million in series B round
Edutech firm Cakap aims to upgrade its technology and offer more classes with the new funds.
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ducation technology (edutech) company Cakap announced on Thursday that it had received US$10 million in a series B funding round led by venture capital firms from Indonesia, Korea and Singapore.
Telkom-backed MDI Ventures coled the funding round alongside Singapore-based Heritas Capital. KB Asset Management, the investment arm of Korea’s KB Financial Group, and several undisclosed investors also participated in the round.
Cakap said in a press release that the fresh capital would be used to expand its certified course offerings for English, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean and Mandarin, as well as to fuel market expansion and technology development.
“We are consistently [learning about] the unique behaviors of our students and enhancing our solutions by developing our engine around artificial intelligence and machine learning to provide localized and personalized learning to accelerate progress in student learning,” said Cakap cofounder and CEO Tomy Yunus.
Established in 2015, Cakap offers online language courses for both children and adults, as well as personalized preparatory classes for language proficiency certification.
The company claims to have acquired 1.5 million users in the past two years and that it has booked a profit since 2020.
Southeast Asian edutech companies collectively raised capital of around $200 million in the first half of the year, closing on $250 million worth of investments in the whole of 2020, according to the e-Conomy SEA 2021 Report.
Read also: Gredu bags $4m Series A fund for nationwide expansion
“We are pleased to back Cakap once again as it successfully transits from venture to growth stage with solid execution and high capital efficiency,” said Chik Wai Chiew, CEO and executive director of Heritas Capital, which also participated in Cakap’s previous funding round.
With an expected compound annual growth rate of 18.7 percent from 2020 to 2027, the online language learning market is projected to reach $21.2 billion by the end of that period. The Asia-Pacific region was estimated to command the largest share of the global market last year, according to Meticulous Research.
Read also: Future of Indonesia’s education tech lies in untapped categories, experts say
Edutech and health technology are said to be two nascent segments in the digital economy with high growth potential. Both segments have grown since the pandemic emerged last year.
