Vietnam’s Edutech startup MindX Raises US$500,000 in Round Led By ESP Capital
MindX, formerly known as TechKids, a Vietnam-based edutech startup that operates a chain of schools focusing on training tech skills for the Industry 4.0 era, has recently completed a first round of funding whereby it raised US$500,000. The investment seed round was led by ESP Capital Investment Fund along with a number of other individual investors.
ESP Capital is an early stage venture capital fund that has made 7 investments thus far, with MindX being the latest company that they have invested in. They are focused on supporting and investing in tech startup companies in Southeast Asia, and in particular Vietnam. They hope to nurture and grow these tech startup companies into becoming the next Unicorns in Asia.
Founded in 2015, MindX now operates five educational centers in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, providing training in tech skills ranging from game programming and web design to building cross-platform mobile apps, for more than 8,000 students and working adults. Their current aim is to build an ecosystem that includes schools that teach new skill sets for the Industry 4.0 trend, such as the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence, and coworking space. Each of these complexes is considered a miniature Silicon Valley that contributes to nurturing the growth of tech entrepreneurs, social change agents
With the investment raised from the seed round, the startup will focus on opening new centers in Ho Chi Minh City. Additionally, the funds raised will be used to upgrade the current syllabus content for design, 3D drawing, and virtual reality/augmented reality (VR/AR), said co-founder and CEO of MindX’s education division, Nguyen Thi Thu Ha.
Nguyen Thi Thu Ha added: “MindX is working with leading schools in top countries […] worldwide, such as the US, Singapore, and South Korea, in order to select the most suitable method that fits Vietnamese students’ culture and learning style”.
Education is a top priority in Vietnam, with expenditure accounting for the highest percentage of GDP in Southeast Asia (4.7 percent in 2018). With a burgeoning youth population and more than 23 million students, the market for training in edutech skills for the Industry 4.0 era is expected to see a lot of development potential and value. Indeed, the education market for new tech skills promises to break out to capture the Industry 4.0 trend.
The coworking spaces, meanwhile, provide office space at affordable and reasonable prices for startups. Not only that, but they are also provided with abundant technology and human resources to support their development. Students from the edutech schools are free to go to the MindX campus after school to interact with innovators and entrepreneurs from leading tech companies. They therefore gain invaluable experience from a real workplace environment and learn firsthand about entrepreneurship from business owners and startup founders.
MindX, the edutech startup from Vietnam, hopes that the new ecosystem that it will build, which incorporates schools that teach new tech skills and coworking spaces for startups together in a holistic environment for growth and innovation, will spur the country’s progress towards an Industry 4.0 era.
