Education Technology · Profile from Education Technology Research Companion
Ruangguru (PT Ruang Raya Indonesia)
Indonesia's largest consumer EdTech company. Founded in 2014 as a tutor marketplace, it became a national brand with a curriculum-aligned video and practice app (Ruangbelajar), raised a $150m Series C co-led by General Atlantic and GGV (2019) and a $55m Tiger Global-led round (2021), and was caught in a conflict-of-interest controversy over the government's Kartu Prakerja programme (2020). After layoffs in 2022 it shifted toward hybrid tutoring through Brain Academy.
At a glance
- Founded
- 2014, Jakarta, Indonesia
- Founders
- Adamas Belva Syah Devara (CEO) and Iman Usman (co-founder; Chief Product Officer, later broader roles)
- Headquarters
- Jakarta, Indonesia; regional operations in Vietnam (Kiến Guru) and Thailand (StartDee)
- Ownership / structure
- Private, venture-backed Indonesian company (PT Ruang Raya Indonesia); not listed
- Leadership (2026)
- Belva Devara and Iman Usman remain the public faces of the company (verify current titles)
- Segment and buyer
- Consumer K-12 learning and test preparation (buyer: parents), hybrid tutoring centres, English classes, adult skills (buyers: adults, employers, and government through Kartu Prakerja)
- Scale
- Company claimed ~22m users around 2020 and higher totals later (registered users, not paying customers); Brain Academy centres in ~18+ cities (2021 company figure, verify current); revenue not disclosed; company claims first profitable year in 2021
- Capital raised / valuation
- ~$205m+ disclosed equity (database totals vary), including $150m Series C (Dec 2019) and $55m (Apr 2021); valuation never disclosed; unicorn status speculated but not confirmed
- Signature moves
- Tutor marketplace (2014); pivot to Ruangbelajar video subscription (2016–17); $150m Series C (2019); Vietnam and Thailand launches (2019–20); Skill Academy and Kartu Prakerja (2020); Tiger Global round (2021); layoffs and hybrid refocus (2022). Misses: Prakerja conflict-of-interest controversy and CEO's resignation from the presidential staff; pandemic over-hiring
7 strategic moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
2014
Founding Tutor Marketplace
Launch
2017
Pivot to Ruangbelajar Video Subscription
Pivot / funding round
2019
Regional Expansion Vietnam Thailand
Launch (international expansion)
2019
Series C 150m General Atlantic GGV
Funding round
2020
Kartu Prakerja and Skill Academy
Partnership (government programme)
2021
Tiger Global 55m Round
Funding round
2022
Layoffs and Hybrid Learning Focus
Restructuring