FastCampus, the Leader in Adult Education, Raises an Additional KRW 10 Billion in Funding

– Raises KRW 10 billion in Series B funding from seven investors, bringing the total raised to KRW 18 billion

– Closed the round within two months due to oversubscription, doubling the initial target of KRW 5 billion

– Aims to become South Korea’s only full-stack education company, covering online and offline, B2C and B2B, practical skills, foreign language, and vocational education

July 31, 2019– FastCampus, South Korea’s leading adult education company (co-CEOs Jiwoong Park and Kangmin Lee), announced it successfully closed an additional KRW 10 billion in funding from seven investors, including Devsisters Ventures, Value System Asset Management, Skywalk Asset Management, Seoul Investment Partners, Woori Technology Investment, and Fast Track Asia. This marks the second round of external investment since the company’s founding, bringing the total raised to KRW 18 billion to date.

Founded in 2014, FastCampus has rapidly grown into South Korea’s only adult education company, offering comprehensive content across all areas of adult education. This includes part-time and full-time employment-linked education, online courses, foreign language training, corporate education, and Coloso, a vocational education brand. The company has experienced double-digit annual growth since its inception, surpassing KRW 20 billion in annual revenue, with approximately 120,000 cumulative students, 1,000 courses opened annually, and a network of around 2,000 instructors—making it a clear leader in the adult education market.

FastCampus is leading the growth of the adult education market, which has evolved differently from the traditional test-prep market for university entrance exams. While South Korea’s birth rate decline has reduced the potential customer base for test-prep education aimed at those under 20, the potential customer base for adults aged 25 to 50 is over twice as large, reaching 20 million.

Unlike the traditional test-focused education market, which relies heavily on star lecturers, the practical skills education market, driven by rapid technological advancements, requires constant learning and adaptation. This reduces the dependence on star lecturers and emphasizes the need for lifelong learning that delivers relevant content at various life stages. FastCampus’ growth has demonstrated the potential of the adult education market, where learning doesn’t end with a single test or certification but continues throughout a person’s life.

Investors in this round included Devsisters Ventures, Value System Asset Management, Skywalk Asset Management, Seoul Investment Partners, and Woori Technology Investment, with additional investment from Fast Track Asia, an existing investor. Investor interest in the adult education market’s growth potential and FastCampus’ track record led to the round closing at twice the original target amount.

Co-CEOs Jiwoong Park and Kangmin Lee explained, “FastCampus aims to be a full-stack education company that provides all the content adults need in every possible format, regardless of whether they are employees or self-employed. We aim to transform South Korea’s education market from one focused solely on test scores and pass rates into a customer-centered, demand-driven content business that will ultimately replace traditional universities and graduate schools.”

With the funds raised in this round, FastCampus plans to pursue several initiatives, including enhancing offline learning experiences, launching a subscription platform, expanding into the e-learning corporate education market, and aggressively growing its foreign language and Coloso businesses.