South Korean AI startup Riiid raises $175m from SoftBank Vision Fund 2 to accelerate growth
Riiid Inc (Riiid), an AI education company and a member of Born2Global Centre, has raised $175 million investment from SoftBank Vision Fund 2. To accelerate the pace of capturing opportunities in the global education market, SoftBank Vision Fund 2 led the round as the sole investor, which brings Riiid's total funding to $250 million. It is Riiid's largest funding round to date.
YJ Jang, CEO, Riiid: "Riiid wants to transform education with AI, and achieve a true democratization of educational opportunities. This investment is only the beginning of our journey in creating a new industry ecosystem and we will carry out this mission with global partnerships."
Over the past year, Riiid Labs, the global arm of Riiid, has expanded the company's market across the U.S., South America, Middle East and Asia with partners such as Kaplan, ConnecME, Grupo INICIE, and Casa Grande, combining Riiid's AI technology and the content provided by those companies to create personalized learning services.
Riiid will use the new funding to further strengthen its AI technology and extend its global technology lead in AI for education. Riiid is establishing R&D centers and data labeling centers in the U.S., Canada, and Ghana to attract global talent and to build out its technical infrastructure.
Riiid continues to attract top global talent in education, including Marten Roorda, the former CEO of testing non-profit organization ACT, and Jim Larimore who brings two decades of education leadership experience at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Dartmouth College, Swarthmore College, NYU Abu Dhabi, and Stanford University.
Greg Moon, Managing Partner, SoftBank Investment Advisers: "Riiiid is driving a paradigm shift in education, from a 'one size fits all' approach to personalized instruction. Powered by AI and machine learning, Riiid's platform provides education companies, schools and students with personalized plans and tools to optimize learning potential. We are delighted to partner with YJ and the Riiid team to support their ambition of democratizing quality education around the world."
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