Quipper and Recruit join forces

Education is a huge part of the global economy. It accounts for around 6% of global GDP and, more importantly, impacts the lives of almost everyone on Earth. Despite this, it has barely been disrupted by technology.

In some ways this is understandable, the education market is fragmented, heavily-regulated and difficult to crack.

But true entrepreneurs relish these challenges and this was the case when Masa Watanabe, the co-founder of DeNA — the hugely successful Japanese mobile and e-commerce company — founded Quipper in 2010. Quipper produces cross-platform, cross-device software that allows teachers to set and track assignments, answer students’ questions via IM, and monitor individuals’ learning progress.

As a startup founded in London by a successful serial entrepreneur tackling one of the world’s biggest challenges, we were excited to invest in Quipper back in 2011 and their growth in that time has been remarkable.

Now we are delighted to see Quipper begin an exciting new phase in their growth following their acquisition by Japan’s Recruit Holdings. With a network of 1.5m students and 150,000 teachers already using Quipper, the company is primed to accelerate their growth alongside Recruit in the months and years to come.

Masa and the team are creating something extraordinary and it’s been a pleasure to work alongside them.