Riiid inks deal with ALC to expand its AI-based TOEIC platform in Japan

South Korean AI-powered edtech firm, Riiid, announced on Thursday it has partnered with ALC, a premier brand in the Japanese language education industry, to deliver its popular TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication) learning platform "Santa" to Japan.

Celebrating half a century in the sector, ALC boasts considerable recognition and steady growth in the language learning industry, with annual revenue hitting $46 million from its foreign language textbooks and educational services.

Launched by Riiid in 2017, Santa is an AI-enabled TOEIC learning platform that has already gained significant traction in Asian markets, accumulating 5 million downloads across Korea, Japan and Taiwan. In Japan alone, the app topped a million downloads last year, ranking as the most downloaded TOEIC-related application.

Japan's TOEIC market echoes that of Korea, seeing about 3 million test takers annually. However, individual education spending in Japan doubles that of Korea, resulting in a market worth 100 billion yen ($720 million) each year.

Through collaboration with ALC, Riiid aims to capture a commanding share of Japan's burgeoning TOEIC market. The partnership will leverage Riiid's cutting-edge AI technology and ALC's strong brand reputation, along with its well-established TOEIC-related content.

Write to Joo-Wan Kim at kjwan@hankyung.com