Edtech market tipped to reach $207.3bn by 2026

A report by ResearchAndMarkets.com suggests that global education technology (edtech) and the smart classrooms market will reach US$207.3 billion by 2026.

According to the Education Technology (Ed Tech) and Smart Classrooms – Global Market Trajectory & Analytics report, education embedded with information technology presents new opportunities for learners irrespective of geographical boundaries.

Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the global market for edtech and smart classrooms was estimated at US$84 billion in the year 2020, but has since increased to a projected US$207.3 billion by 2026. The sector has grown at a CAGR of 16.3% over the analysis period.

The growth in the edtech and smart classroom market is being driven by several factors, including rising demand for e-learning solutions, increased use of connected devices in education institutions, rising implementation of government schemes across several emerging countries for promoting education, lower developmental costs and expanded ease of use, growing demand for digital education, rising need to keep education systems running amid the pandemic, and rising adoption of machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) in smart learning.

Ongoing efforts by leading edtech players to provide students with online textbooks are reducing classroom costs and addressing a shortage of resources. Education curricula is also expected to be significantly influenced by the power of data and related insights, which are bound to influence edtech.

Data and associated analytics are expected to provide educators with insights into student behaviour and interaction with the content. In the coming years, technologies such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are anticipated to become more widespread in classrooms as learning tools.

There are currently various AR experiences and apps available in the market to help students learn K–12 lessons across a wide range of topics, from history to science and mathematics. Following consistent growth in recent years, the edtech market boomed amid the COVID-19 pandemic, enabling venture capital funding to post an impressive spike.

Hardware, one of the segments analysed in the report, is projected to grow at a 14.7% CAGR to reach US$92.7 billion by the end of the analysis period. After a thorough analysis of the business implications of the pandemic and its induced economic crisis, growth in the content segment is readjusted to a revised 18.7% CAGR for the next seven-year period. This segment currently accounts for a 37% share of the global edtech and smart classrooms market.

Hardware improvements and ubiquity of smartphones are key factors that are expected to drive the adoption of VR in e-learning on a wider scale.

The software segment analysed in the report is expected to reach US$39.8 billion by 2026. Edtech software allows teachers to run pre-recorded or live classes, enabling students to access these resources digitally from anywhere. Edtech apps are playing an important role in enabling educators to monitor student engagement and attention through remote learning.

Many higher education institutions have also been live-streaming their classes to several classrooms as well as adopting learning management system (LMS) software solutions for the creation, distribution and management of educational content.

Various players serving the education technology market are offering better systems, software and hardware to improve synchronous or asynchronous learning abilities in classroom or home settings.

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