Kahoot!, a global learning and engagement platform company headquartered in Oslo, Norway, is focusing on localization, mobile-first experiences and a freemium model as it expands its footprint in Southeast Asia.

“Southeast Asia is one of the most exciting and diverse regions for digital learning, and for Kahoot! our priority here is accessibility,” Ahteram Uddin, Head of Commercial Asia & MENA, at Kahoot! told TNGlobal in an interview.

“We know that there’s no single approach that works across all markets, so our strategy is rooted in localization, mobile-first experiences, and a freemium model that makes Kahoot! easy to adopt in both public schools and community learning environments.”

In line with this, Ahteram said Kahoot! has steadily expanded language support across the region. The momentum in Asia Pacific has been particularly strong, with over 130,000 teachers and 200 million participants engaging with Kahoot! in the past year alone.

“Kahoot! was launched in Thai in December 2024 and more recently in Vietnamese in April 2025, which adds to our existing support for Japanese, Korean, Bahasa Indonesia, and Chinese. Every time we localize for a new market, we see a clear lift in adoption, and this shows the importance of cultural and linguistic relevance,” he said.

Kahoot! is digital learning platform that enables individuals and organizations to easily create, share, and host engaging learning sessions. Users include children, students and employees.

According to the company, since launching in 2013, it has become a global leader, hosting hundreds of millions of sessions with over 12 billion cumulative participants across 200+ countries and regions.

Clever, the global identity platform for K-12, is also part of Kahoot! Group, serving millions of educators, students, and schools every day. Headquartered in Oslo, Norway, Kahoot! also have offices in the US, UK, France, Finland, Australia, Singapore, Japan, Estonia, Denmark, Spain, and Poland.

In the interview, Ahteram also shared insights about the opportunities, challenges the company sees in Southeast Asia, its competitive edge, among others.

Below are the edited excerpts of the interview:

Kahoot! is actively expanding in Southeast Asia. How is the progress so far? Which are Kahoot! targeted markets? And why these markets?
Southeast Asia is one of the most exciting and diverse regions for digital learning, and for Kahoot! our priority here is accessibility. We know that there’s no single approach that works across all markets, so our strategy is rooted in localization, mobile-first experiences, and a freemium model that makes Kahoot! easy to adopt in both public schools and community learning environments.

In line with this, we’ve steadily expanded language support across the region. The momentum in APAC has been particularly strong, with over 130,000 teachers and 200 million participants engaging with Kahoot! in the past year alone.

Kahoot! was launched in Thai in December 2024 and more recently in Vietnamese in April 2025, which adds to our existing support for Japanese, Korean, Bahasa Indonesia, and Chinese. Every time we localize for a new market, we see a clear lift in adoption, and this shows the importance of cultural and linguistic relevance.

For example, our Bahasa Indonesia launch in 2024 has driven remarkable growth: more than 15 million players have participated in 1.8 million Kahoot! sessions, including 1.2 million students learning with the support of 115,000 educators.

Beyond these key markets, we are also encouraged by organic growth in places like Vietnam and the Philippines, where teachers and even HR teams in workplaces are leveraging Kahoot! to drive engagement and motivation.

What are the opportunities Kahoot! sees in Southeast Asia? Any particular segment or product Kahoot! expects to see significant growth?
Southeast Asia offers diverse opportunities, with some markets like Singapore and Malaysia driving adoption through government-led upskilling, while others are still building foundational digital infrastructure. This makes adaptability key for Kahoot!, whether in feature rollout, licensing models, or local support. We see strong growth potential across both education and corporate learning.

With students preparing for exams in highly competitive systems, there’s a clear need for tools that reduce stress and boost engagement. Kahoot! EDU gives schools and universities a scalable way to make learning more interactive, including 100 student passes per EDU license. We’re also seeing strong demand for our new AI-powered study tools, which instantly turn notes, articles, or tests into quizzes and flashcards and helps students learn more effectively and independently.

On the corporate side, Kahoot! 360 ccontinues to gain traction for onboarding, compliance training, and skills development, as well as team engagement in hybrid or remote settings. With reskilling a top priority across SEA, interactive and AI-driven learning tools are becoming especially relevant for businesses of all sizes.

What is your strategy expanding in Southeast Asia? What is your competitive edge as compared to other edtech platforms?
Our strategy in Southeast Asia is built around providing our users with more personalized product experience by localizing our platform in their own languages, finding the right business partners, and by collaborating with brands, corporations, schools and universities to deliver innovative learning experiences for every learner in the region.

What gives us an edge is how we bring gamification, interactivity, and AI together in a way that’s simple, social, and scalable. Kahoot! transforms learning into an active and collaborative experience. This combination of accessibility, innovation, and measurable outcomes is what sets Kahoot! apart.

How is the region different from other regions? School syllabus and consumers’ expectations in Southeast Asia will be very different from Europe. What are the challenges expanding into Southeast Asia? How does Kahoot! address these challenges?

For Southeast Asia, we understand the strong need to align the local community needs such as digitalisation with our expertise. Ultimately, our goal is to make learning awesome for every learner, no matter their age, location, or profession.

These collaborations are all designed to co-create content that makes learning more relevant and fun and connect with younger, more diverse audiences who value learning experiences that are more visual and immersive.

In Indonesia and in the wider APAC region, we see the potential to replicate these creative collaborations. We are optimistic to work with potential local brands here to offer localised content not only for their market, but also for our global users.

In terms of strategic partnerships with local edtech partners, we believe that there is plenty of room to elevate the learning experiences, especially for Southeast Asia’s growing pool of digital natives. We hope that through these partnerships, we can combine our expertise in providing an engaging learning environment with local players that have a deeper understanding of user needs.

It is only through effective collaborations that we can deliver the value that resonate with SEAsians and support the development of 21st-century skills.

Kahoot! provides services for both schools and workplaces. Which one/segment will be your priority?
As mentioned, our priorities would be these two areas equally. That said, our approach in each segment is naturally different.

On the corporate side, we’re seeing strong momentum as companies rethink how they deliver training, onboarding, and internal communications. With Kahoot!, learning at work becomes something people genuinely want to engage with, instead of just another box to tick.

A big driver of this growth is the shift in workplace culture, as today’s workforce increasingly consists of digital-native employees who expect training to be fast, flexible, and engaging. Our research shows that 62 percent of trainers said Gen Z employees prefer using mobile apps, while nearly half (48 percent) picked online tools for workplace training. Training with videos and social media is also proving to be popular, with 39 percent and 34 percent of trainers highlighting these formats respectively.

This is exactly where Kahoot! comes in, as it creates experiences that are interactive, and social by nature, which helps organizations connect with their employees in the way they learn best.

What are Kahoot!’s plans moving forward in Southeast Asia/Asia?
In the next two to three years across APAC, we’re focused on deepening partnerships in both education and enterprise, with particular emphasis on higher education institutions such as universities, as well as employers. At the same time, we’re exploring more content collaborations tailored to APAC audiences that can support 21st-century skills and digital literacy.

For instance, in Singapore, we are in active discussions with several polytechnics to expand how Kahoot! is integrated into classrooms at scale. These efforts often require close collaboration and alignment with local education bodies, but we see huge potential for impact. More broadly, we recognize that each market has its own priorities, and our strategy is to meet those needs with our expertise in making learning fun, interactive, and impactful.

What’s Kahoot!’s view on the edtech industry in Southeast Asia? Is the industry crowded? How is AI technology disrupting the industry?
The edtech industry in Southeast Asia is dynamic and fast-evolving, and while there are many players in the space, we see that as a positive sign, because it shows strong demand and a growing appetite for digital learning solutions.

We’re also seeing how AI is becoming a real disruptor in the industry, creating new ways to personalize and scale learning. Kahoot! has already taken steps in this direction with our AI tools, which allow students to instantly transform their notes or articles into interactive quizzes and flashcards.

In APAC, where learner needs and infrastructure vary greatly, AI helps us adapt more effectively, whether  it’s supporting independent study, helping teachers save time in lesson prep, or enabling companies to deliver training that feels both interactive and personalized.

Norwegian online game learning platform Kahoot! launches APAC hub in Singapore