Riiid Inc., a Softbank Vision Fund-backed artificial intelligence (AI) education technology company, announced Thursday the acquisition of Qualson Co Ltd., a leading English language learning and content provider based in South Korea.
Riiid said in a statement that Qualson is the owner and operator of popular business to consumer (B2C) English learning platforms including its flagship Real Class™, known widely for using high quality content sourced from international media companies to teach real-world, conversational English.
Founded in 2012, Qualson has operated a diverse portfolio of language learning brands and is known for collaborating with well-known public personalities in South Korea to deliver premium Hollywood movie and TV show-based learning content.
Users of Qualson’s products including Real Class™ seek practical, daily English learning lessons and participate in live classes in addition to consuming video-on-demand (VOD) content.
The acquisition enables several routes for Riiid to augment Qualson’s products via injection of its globally-renowned “knowledge tracing” and “content recommendation” AI technologies.
Equally, Qualson’s premium and loyal user base, ultra-high quality content, and English-as-a-second-language (ESL) market ‘know-how’ enables Riiid to accelerate development of its future ESL product.
According to the statement, Qualson’s Chief Executive Officer Sooyoung Park will take on a larger role within the combined business.
The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2024 and is subject to customary closing conditions.
Founded in 2014, Riiid operates several products using its core AI technologies, including its flagship product Santa TOEIC™, an app that helps students primarily in South Korea, Japan and Taiwan prepare for the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC), and R.Test, a rapid diagnosis platform for the US market that helps students assess their expected performance on high stakes exams including the ACT and SAT.
Riiid also packages and offers its core technologies to other education services companies and public organizations through custom solutions and APIs.
Singapore’s Nium partners South Korea’s Jeonbuk Bank to launch global remittance service