PT Ruang Raya Indonesia,[1] doing business as Ruangguru, is a startup company focusing in education. The premium service focuses on helping students in understanding school curriculums, as well as helping with exams, particularly standardised tests.
In 2021 Ruangguru was ranked #25 as the world's most innovative company and #2 as the most innovative education company by Fast Company.[2][3]
History
Ruangguru (a play of the phrase ruang guru, literally "teachers' office") was founded in April 2014 by Adamas Belva Syah Devara and Muhammad Iman Usman to aid students to find various tutors online.[4][5] As of August of the same year, there were more than one thousand teachers registered. Ruangguru was also funded by East Ventures.[5]
In February 2016, Ruangguru introduce its beta version of Android app and full version in April.[4]
On July 5, 2017, UOB Venture Management was reported to fund Ruangguru as the third funder with Series B financing.[6]
Ruangguru secured a US$150 million Series C funding round in December 2019, led by General Atlantic.[7] After claiming a profitable 2020, they secured another $55 million in April 2021[8] in a round led by Tiger Global. It is one of the most well-funded Indonesian and Southeast Asian startups.
And in early 2022, Ruangguru acquired Kalananti, a coding lesson based in Ciputat, Tangerang, Banten, Indonesia.
In July 2022, Ruangguru also acquired Schoters, a digital education platform which provides end-to-end preparation programs for students and professionals to study abroad with scholarships.
Service
In Ruangguru, lessons that are provided are school-related subjects, foreign languages, musics, sports, and others. Ruangguru receives 20% of the transactions made.[5]
Corporate
According to Kompas, a Singapore-based company Ruangguru Pte Ltd owns 99.99% of PT Ruang Raya Indonesia's shares.[9]
Controversy
Despite Ruangguru's status as a high-profile, high-valuation startup, outsourced workers on social media alleged the Indonesian edtech "soonicorn" Ruangguru of paying them below the local minimum wage in March and April 2021. In response, Devara took to Twitter to respond to the allegations from interns.
External links
References
- Ruangguru retrieved 14 December 2017^
- Cayleigh Parrish. The World's Most Innovative Companies 2021 Fast Company, 2021-03-09, retrieved 2021-03-10^
- Fast Company Staff. The 10 most innovative education companies of 2021 Fast Company, 2021-03-09, retrieved 2021-03-10^
- Economy in brief: Tutor-search start-up to launch mobile app The Jakarta Post, 12 February 2016, retrieved 14 December 2017^
- Oik Yusuf. Ruangguru.com Memperoleh Pendanaan dari East Ventures Kompas.com, 21 August 2014, retrieved 14 December 2017^
- EdTech platform Ruangguru secures UOB Venture Management backing The Jakarta Post, 5 July 2017, retrieved 14 December 2017^
- Aditya Hadi Pratama. Tech in Asia - Connecting Asia's startup ecosystem www.techinasia.com, 26 Dec 2019, retrieved 2021-04-20^
- Khamila Mulia. Indonesia's edtech sector remains red-hot as Ruangguru snags another USD 55 million KrASIA, 2021-04-19, retrieved 2021-04-20^
- Menelusuri Pemilik Saham Ruangguru Pte Ltd Singapura yang Diklaim Milik Belva Halaman all KOMPAS.com, 24 April 2020, retrieved 4 October 2021^