The Duolingo owl won’t be the only EdTech mascot up there on the public markets as Open English, an online English-to-Spanish focused EdTech, filed for an IPO a few days ago. The company, founded in 2007, is based in the US but with offices across Latin America and offers a platform where Spanish speakers are able to easily learn conversational English in a matter of weeks.
Details around valuation and proceeds are limited as the company filed for a listing confidentially — but with $77m in revenue during 2020, 1 million users, and expansion plans extending to Europe and MENA, expectations are certainly high.
During a funding round in 2013, Open English was valued at $350m and its current investors include private equity and VC firms like Insight Partners and Redpoint Ventures.
Why it matters
Open English’s listing is a sign that things are booming within the Edtech space — the market has already hosted EdTech providers Duolingo (DUOL), PowerSchool (PWSC), and Udemy (UDMY). With a particular addressable market in the developing world, we could see a rise in more EdTech platforms.
