What are the EdTech 1000s? | HolonIQ Knowledge Center

Why does the EdTech 1000 exist?

HolonIQ’s Education Intelligence Unit curates this list to shine a light on up-and-coming EdTech companies that are young, fast-growing, and highly innovative.
It serves as a tool for investors, educators, policymakers, and other stakeholders to track emerging trends, spot high-potential companies, and understand where innovation is happening in global education.

HolonIQ uses a multi-stage evaluation process to choose the EdTech 1000:

Nomination & Screening
- Each year, over 10,000 EdTech startups are nominated or apply, and then screened region by region.
- The regional approach ensures a diverse and global cohort.
Eligibility Criteria
Some typical criteria for startups to be considered include:
- Less than ~10 years old (though there can be exceptions).
- Pre-exit (not acquired or publicly listed).
- Either headquartered in their region or generating a significant portion of revenue or customers in that region (> 80%).
- Not a subsidiary or heavily controlled by a larger company (e.g., via private equity).
Scoring / Assessment
Companies are evaluated using HolonIQ’s “startup scoring rubric,” which includes:
- Market: How attractive and scalable is the market the startup operates in?
- Product: The quality, uniqueness, and potential impact of the product.
- Team: The strength, expertise, and diversity of leadership.
- Capital: Financial health, funding, and ability to secure more capital.
- Momentum: Growth trajectory, speed of scaling, and evidence of traction.

The EdTech 1000 covers a broad spectrum of education technology startups. Some notable trends and categories include:

K-12 Education: A significant portion of the EdTech 1000 cohort focuses on tools for schools, students, curriculum, instructional support, and tutoring.
Workforce Training & Upskilling: Many startups target adult learners and corporate customers, offering bootcamps, short courses, immersive training, or upskilling platforms.
Post-Secondary / Higher Education: Solutions in this space include student record systems, admissions tools, and recruitment platforms.
Early Childhood Education: Though smaller in number, there are EdTech startups focused on early learning, STEAM, behavioral analytics, and foundational literacy.
Emerging Technologies: Across sectors, many EdTechs are integrating AI, AR/VR, immersive learning, or other advanced tech to create scalable and personalized learning experiences.

The Global EdTech 1000 is made up of regional cohorts. For example, in 2025, HolonIQ’s list included:
- North America (200 startups)
- Europe (200)
- East Asia (150)
- Latin America (100)
- South Asia (100)
- Southeast Asia (50)
- Middle East & North Africa (MENA) (50)
- Nordic-Baltic (50)
- Australia & New Zealand (50)
- Africa (Sub-Saharan) (50)
This breakdown helps ensure that EdTech innovation from less-represented regions is included, and prevents the list from being dominated by any single market.

Investors: Use the list to identify promising startups in education, track emerging regions, and allocate capital thematically.
EdTech founders: Being on the list can boost credibility, visibility, and connections with potential partners or investors.
Education institutions and policymakers: Helps them keep an eye on innovation trends, evaluate which EdTechs might scale, and understand emerging disruptions in learning.
Researchers and analysts: The EdTech 1000 provides a curated sample of high-growth startups to study innovation, market dynamics, and educational impact.

HolonIQ customers (e.g., investors, enterprises) can access detailed data on EdTech 1000 companies via the HolonIQ Intelligence Platform.
If you’re not a customer, you can request a demo for the QS Analytics Platform to explore the list, see company profiles, and analyze trends.
HolonIQ also publishes insight reports, notes, and blog posts summarizing key trends observed in each year’s EdTech 1000.