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Funding, policy & regulation
Past the hype cycle, and built for how UK schools must buy and protect data.
Funding & the flight to quality
Capital now backs proven, efficient companies
Global EdTech venture funding peaked near £16.4bn (US$20.8bn) in 2021 and fell to about £1.9bn (US$2.4bn) in 2024 — the lowest in a decade, down ~89% from the peak.
- Fewer but larger deals; capital concentrating on AI, schools and workforce/upskilling.
- HolonIQ describes 2024–25 as the bottom of the market — a reset, not a collapse.
- The climate rewards capital-efficient, outcome-led products.
Source: HolonIQ (2021–2025). GBP converted.
Global EdTech venture funding (£bn)
Peak £16.4bn (2021) to ~£1.9bn (2024). Source: HolonIQ; GBP converted.
Compliance as standard
- UK GDPR & Data Protection Act aligned
- ICO Children’s Code principles
- UK data hosting & encryption at rest
- Working towards recognised security certifications
Policy & regulation
Built for how UK schools buy and protect data
- Data protection: UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act govern pupil, staff and parent data; schools run a data protection impact assessment before adopting new systems.
- DfE standards: cyber-security, cloud, filtering & monitoring and account-security standards shape what schools can buy.
- Procurement: a forthcoming national MIS procurement route is expected to reward predictable pricing, clear exit terms and data portability.
What this means for Learnaroo
Disciplined, compliant, built to win procurement
A capital-efficient, UK-first platform fits the current investor climate; and a privacy-by-design, DfE-aligned platform with UK hosting, encryption and no lock-in is built for the standards and procurement schools must follow.