Indonesian education technology (edtech) startup Ruangguru announced on May 9 that it has completed the acquisition of Mclass, an online learning platform from Vietnam that offers live teaching solutions to students.

The acquisition is a strategic move to expand its reach and increase its regional capabilities following on from its success in entering Vietnam in 2019 through its subsidiary, Kien Guru.

“We are very pleased to welcome Mclass to the Ruangguru family,” said Mr. Belva Devara, Co-Founder and CEO of Ruangguru. “Together with Kien Guru, we believe Mclass’s strong reputation and expertise in online learning can further expand our offerings and improve our business in Vietnam and in Southeast Asia as well as complement our suite of learning solutions. Our vision is to become the leading edtech company in Southeast Asia and we are confident that this acquisition is another step towards achieving that goal.”

Ruangguru will strengthen its position as one of the market leaders in Vietnam’s growing edtech sector, especially in the high school segment, in which Mclass is the largest live teaching platform.

The strategic move complements Kien Guru’s K-12 online learning solution, which has been used by more than 2.5 million students in Vietnam over the past four years, including pre-recorded learning videos, live teaching, and special features to help students complete their homework. The acquisition will not only broaden learning solutions for students but will also provide Mclass teachers with an excellent opportunity to expand their reach and impact more students in Vietnam and beyond.

“Joining Ruangguru is an interesting opportunity for us,” said Mr. Nguyen Van Khai, Founder of Mclass. “We share the same vision of increasing access to quality education and providing an enjoyable learning experience for students across Southeast Asia. With Ruangguru’s experience and resources, we can enhance our offerings and provide a better learning experience for our students.”

Mclass, founded by Khai and Nguyen Minh Thang in 2019, quickly became one of the most popular and trusted online learning platforms in Vietnam. It works with the best teachers in the country to offer live teaching sessions in math, science, and humanities as well as college preparation measures such as IELTS.

Its innovative approach has received a positive response and is of great interest to students and parents. This can be seen by the presence of more than 10 million followers on social media for teachers and their live teaching sessions, which reach 85,000 student participants simultaneously and saw 1 million total video replays for one learning session in 2022.