South Korean VC Firm Solborn Invests US$5m in NZ Edtech Startup Crimson Education

South Korea’s Solborn Investment, the venture capital arm of Korean holding company Solborn, has invested US$5 million in New Zealand-based education technology (edtech) startup Crimson Education, according to reports.

Solborn Investment, headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, focuses on all stages of venture investment in companies operating in the information technology, nanotechnology, and biotechnology sectors.

It also invested in Mesh Korea, a highly IT-oriented online logistics firm that focuses on creating platforms that feature same-day and real-time delivery.

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Solborn’s US$5-million investment in Crimson Education values the New Zealand education firm at US$245 million post-money. Crimson last raised US$30 from Tiger Global in 2016, valuing the company at US$160 million.

Founded by Jamie Beaton in 2013, Crimson Education provides students from around the world the opportunity to study in Ivy League or Oxbridge schools or get scholarships and financial. It does so by guiding students, from as young as 11, through its network of over 2,400 tutors worldwide.

Crimson Education makes money by charging US$80 per hour for tutoring and about US$2,000 per module for younger students. So far, the startup said it has already helped 193 students get Ivy League offers, 55 Oxbridge offers, and over US$67 million in scholarship grants.

It now operates in more than 24 cities and follows the standards and rules of the International and National Associations of College Admissions Counseling.

The startup’s young founder, Jamie Beaton, is an academic achiever himself. According to Crimson Education’s website, Beaton applied for twenty-five of the top universities around the world and was the first New Zealander to be accepted to all of them.

He was accepted to elite universities such as: Harvard, Cambridge, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, University of Pennsylvania’s Huntsman Program and Columbia. He ultimately chose Harvard where he finished a degree in Applied Mathematics & Economics, Magna Cum Laude.

Solborn Investment’s interest in Crimson Education is not entirely surprising considering that a number of South Koreans are now studying abroad and several more are looking for ways to get into prestigious universities and colleges overseas.

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