NativeX, the innovative EdTech startup, has just secured $4 million in total funding within just eight months since its launch.
NativeX raised $1.5 million from angel investors through SAFE instruments in June 2023, and it now completed its seed round for an additional $2.5 million.
The round is being co-led by Ansible Ventures and Blueprint Ventures, with the participation of Northstar Ventures and other investors.
With this significant funding, NativeX is well-positioned to advance its mission of revolutionising English learning for 10 million busy working professionals in Vietnam, before moving to other SEA markets.
Valerie Van V., Founding Partner at Ansible Ventures, emphasised the alignment between NativeX’s innovative approach and their investment thesis, stating, “Improving education through upskilling will be a crucial pillar in Vietnam’s EdTech market. Despite attracting international investments, Vietnam’s labour productivity still lags behind other Asian countries, ranking 136th out of 185 countries as of 2021.”
“This situation necessitates the development of training curricula and investment in top talent by local Vietnamese companies to remain competitive. As manufacturers strive to produce higher quality products, the demand for skilled labour will rise,” she said.
Van added “Consequently, initiatives for transformation and upskilling, particularly on-the-job training, will receive increased investments and efforts from business owners in Vietnam. We are excited to co-lead this NativeX seed round and firmly believe in the company’s potential to empower top Vietnamese talents as they advance in their careers.”
Huiting Koh, Founding Managing Partner at Blueprint Ventures, highlights the hallmarks of building NativeX into a leading brand in the EdTech space, sharing, “The company solves a true pain point for Vietnam’s working professionals. The ability to get ahead in their careers is increasingly dependent on a good grasp of the English language – reading, writing, comprehension, and verbal communication.”
NativeX delivers a product that has a strong product human-need fit, creates an emotional affinity with its end consumers by empowering them to reach their goals, and aligns with their values by helping them get ahead in life.
Koh also said, “These are elements of a strong foundation for NativeX to become a lasting brand. The strong user and engagement metrics at this early stage are equally impressive, combined with the market’s demand for their product. We are excited to partner with our esteemed co-investors and back this experienced management team to build a trusted and credible education technology brand for adult English learning in Vietnam.”
Introducing NativeX and its innovative approach to English learning for professionals
NativeX believes that English proficiency is key to unlocking the career potential of working professionals, particularly for local tech talents aiming to compete in the global tech labour market.
Founded in April 2023, NativeX aims to transform how working adults in Vietnam learn English by offering a comprehensive online platform.
This platform includes live classes taught by experienced foreign teachers and provides flexible scheduling options to accommodate the busy lives of working professionals.
A standout feature of NativeX is its innovative and flexible group class model, allowing learners to book classes that suit their schedules.
The collaborative and supportive learning environment is created by grouping learners with similar proficiency levels.
This is proven to be effective. Ai Chau, Co-Founder and Head of the Academic team, highlights the company’s unique content-led approach to curriculum design and learning experience, ensuring scalability and consistency in teaching quality as they scale.
Success in the first year: transforming careers through English proficiency
NativeX has already achieved significant success in its first year of operation, with learners reporting notable improvements in English communication skills.
The platform attracts a diverse range of learners, including 50% managers and professionals in IT, healthcare, marketing, and business fields.
Continuous learning and adaptation based on user feedback and market trends have been key principles guiding NativeX’s growth.
Trang Ly, Co-founder and Head of Growth and Engagement, proudly shares that 75% of MAU remains active on the platform after 7 months and those users typically spend 12-15 hours per month learning English.
The platform has also gained trust from its user base which is reflected in the very high average order value, 2-3x compared to the EdTech industry average in Vietnam.
Founding story and plans: building an engaging upskilling education platform
The founding of NativeX was inspired by the founders’ personal experiences and the recognition of the limitations of traditional learning methods.
The team aims to build a highly engaging upskilling education platform for busy working adults, with English learning being the first vertical.
Looking ahead, NativeX plans to allocate 80% of the seed funding to accelerate product development.
The company aims to launch a new conversational English programme in June for intermediate-level users, incorporating soft skills training as well.
Ai Chau emphasises the uniqueness of their approach, “Why only English? Why can’t we learn English and something else useful at the same time?”
Vietnam has increasingly become an attractive destination for multinational corporations to outsource given its young population and political stability.
This will certainly create many higher paying jobs but also require a much higher English proficiency level to ensure a higher quality of business and efficiency.
In addition to supporting local workforce to capitalise on better employment opportunities in the FMCG and Services sectors, NativeX also plans to collaborate closely with IT engineers to develop an ecosystem supporting their success in the global outsourcing IT market.
NativeX builds an online English learning platform specifically designed for working professionals in Vietnam.
