Edtech learns new skills in an AI-driven world

There’s no escaping AI. It will revolutionise healthcare in 2025 and for those who can afford, it will prolong their lives and improve them. That is certain, but what of other sectors? 

Notably, so-called edtech. What of this often overlooked sector? Will it hit a ceiling when AI makes human skills redundant or will they be transformed by a meld of technology, training and machine?

Right now, it would be fair to say that traditional training programs, long hailed as the solution to reskilling, are no longer fit for purpose. Human workers today are stretched thinner than ever.

They’re juggling jobs, personal lives and a desperate attempt to maintain some semblance of balance. They have less time to learn, less patience for bloated training sessions and less tolerance for systems that don’t deliver results. For corporations, it’s a mess. Training is expensive, inefficient and, for many, irrelevant.

Brighteye Ventures is trying to fix it

Not that humans aren’t trying to fix it. Brighteye Ventures describes itself as ‘the most active edtech-focused venture capital fund in Europe’ and invests in Seed and Series A stage companies and across the value chain of learning. 

Its investments are split into three main categories. 

Firstly, training, which helps people learn skills via new learning experiences or by augmenting existing learning platforms. Secondly, through placement with tech helping people to find work via labour marketplaces or skills software, and finally through empowerment with tech combining learning and via AI copilots or learning agencies.

Ben Wirz is a Founding Partner at Brighteye and recognises that edtech is changing rapidly and VC funds, as well as startups, need to adapt… and adapt quickly. 

“We are seeing that specific sectors such as healthcare, climate/energy and the built environment suffer acute skills gaps and productivity strains that edtech plays a key part in addressing.

“Consequently we are about to publish an updated thesis, expanding the way we approach edtech to focus more widely on technology that unlocks human talent. In short, to address the record-high demand for relevant talent and the huge gap in needed skills in a new work landscape,” he says. 

No skills means no future

The stakes couldn’t be much higher. A workforce without skills is a workforce without a future. And yet, amidst this chaos, there is an opportunity. The visionaries in this space understand that the future of learning doesn’t look like a lecture hall or a corporate workshop. 

It’s mobile-first, personalized, and instantaneous. The smartphone, that ubiquitous extension of our daily lives, has become the classroom. Learning doesn’t need to interrupt the workday—it becomes part of it, slipping seamlessly into a coffee break, a commute or even a lunch hour. The champions of this vision include Matteo Penzo, co-founder and CEO of ZickLearn. He says:

"The equation is simple: corporations must step up and become the educators of tomorrow. Empowering the workforce of tomorrow with personalized, bite-sized learning that fits seamlessly into their day, making upskilling and reskilling effortless, timely, and truly impactful."

ZickLearn is one of a growing number of platforms redefining what corporate training can be. At its heart is an understanding that the future isn’t about sitting employees down for hours of dense, one-size-fits-all material. It’s about delivering targeted, relevant content in sharp, digestible chunks. Think microlearning, not marathons.

Bite-sized courses and training

Others in the edtech space have similar opinions. Aape Pohjavirta is the founder of Funzi, a mobile learning platform that offers bite-sized courses and training edtech programs. He says:

“Edtech services and solutions have matured to the point where they can deliver excellent results—provided they are implemented in ways that align with the specific environment and context in which they are used. 

“To fully realize edtech's potential, the existing education system must adopt new attitudes and develop skills it currently lacks. The priority now should be equipping teachers, content creators, administrators and even parents with these essential skills."

This isn’t some gimmick to make learning feel trendy. The approach is grounded in hard realities. Attention spans are shrinking, workloads are growing, and businesses need results - fast. Platforms such as ZickLearn deliver immediate, tailored lessons that workers can act on right away. 

Yet, for all the promise of edtech, the path ahead isn’t without its challenges. Technology doesn’t solve everything, and there are still gaps to bridge. Access remains a thorny issue. While mobile platforms have the potential to democratise learning, they still require reliable devices and internet connections—something not every worker can take for granted.

Humans learn at different speeds

Volker Hirsch is an entrepreneur, angel investor, regular TEDx speaker and a former partner at Amadeus Capital. He previously served as a Venture Partner at Emerge Education and is an angel investor in edtech startups such as Wonde/Beyond, Enroly, Yoto, and Pi-Top. Hirsch frequently speaks on the topic of AI and its increasing impact on education and work.

“EdTech is increasingly driven by AI and machine learning as it allows levels of data-driven analysis with a granularity not previously possible. This has the potential to drive towards better and data-driven individual learning pathways, which have long been identified as a crux to more successful learning outcomes.

“People learn in different ways and at different speeds, yet curricula are largely static and monolithic. It is impossible for a teacher to design 30 different curricula for her students, but the increased availability of digitised data allows for this to be data-driven, opening opportunities for the teacher to focus on supporting the learning process of her students better,” he says.

Hirsch is correct. Similar approaches can be applied to a multitude of educational settings, including the content, its pacing and delivery (VR/AR, audio, video, flash cards), encouragement (behavioural psychology/gamification) and feedback to students, augmenting the teacher’s work with intelligent systems, such as grading home and coursework.

The key challenge remains the inertia and friction of existing systems, which were initially designed 150 years ago and tailored to a set of needs that is no longer adequate. 

To facilitate the changing demands on educational outcomes – more modular, faster-changing, lifelong learning – a clear focus on a system-level overhaul and rethinking of the approach to future challenges remain important.

Clearly the future of edtech and learning itself is smaller, smarter and infinitely more agile. It’s about meeting workers where they are - whether that’s on a factory floor, behind a counter, or out in the field. It’s about using technology not to overwhelm, but to empower.

AI means people rise to meet new demands

In this landscape, corporations are more than just employers. They are curators of knowledge, architects of opportunity. The businesses that understand this will thrive, creating not just products or profits, but a workforce capable of tackling the challenges of tomorrow. The rest will flounder, left behind by the very progress they failed to anticipate.

For Wirz, Penzo, Pohjavirta, Hirsch and others like them, the vision is clear. The AI revolution isn’t just about machines taking over jobs. It’s about people rising to meet new demands, equipped with the tools they need to adapt, grow, and excel. The companies that make this happen won’t just be participants in the economy of the future—they’ll be its builders.

Edtech is having its moment. Not as a niche industry, but as a cornerstone of the new world of work. This is a fight for the future of the workforce and the message is simple: adapt or die.

AI may be rewriting the rules, but with creative humans in its corner, EdTech is learning the new rules of the game… like any good student should.