India among biggest edtech centres, technology and people important: Anthology Global CEO

New Delhi: India is one of the biggest edtech centres in the world and is among the key markets of US-based Anthology, its recently-appointed CEO Bruce Dahlgren said.

Anthology, a global edtech company, is operational in 80 countries and has 150 million consumers.

It is present in India since 2000 and has three offices -- two in Bengaluru and one in Chennai.

"I made it a point to ensure that I come to India in my first few weeks itself because of the importance of technology and the people here," Dahlgren, who is visiting the country for the first time after taking charge of the Florida-based company a few weeks earlier, told PTI.

Without sharing details about its India presence, the company said they are among the global leaders in the edtech sector.

Dahlgren said more than 25 per cent of its employees are Indian.

"Much of the innovation and concepts around the future come from India. So, it's not just (for) development or a support or services… it's actually about the innovation," he said, talking about the country's share in Anthology's pie.

He shared that he was roped in to scale the business by their private equity investor.

Notably, Veritas and Leeds are the majority owners of Anthology, while Providence Equity Partners LLC holds a minority stake after its merger with edtech software and solutions company Blackboard.

India's geography allows for exponential growth in student intake for higher education, the company's Chief Digital Officer and President in India Raj Mruthyunjayappa said.

"You look at the geospecific needs of India… the exponential growth of the intake of students into higher education, as we're expecting, is going to happen here. In terms of the growth on the gross enrolment ratio, I think technology is going to play a very pivotal role," he said.

Dahlgren, who comes with three decades of experience in B2B software, said AI is "front and centre" in the edtech space.

"Well, having been in the high-tech industry for three decades, it's fun to see how everything has gone from infrastructure to networking to now AI."

"And let's be clear, AI is front and centre in the edtech space... everything from helping professors with their research to helping a university coordinate and communicate with students," he said.

Addressing concerns on the rapid advancement of AI for students and enterprises, Dahlgren said this will help prepare students to enter the workforce.

"AI is going to drive a big change in education and learning because people will start being able to figure out how to take these facts and relate to them… use these in career and future, in families," he said.

"I think AI is going to bring human beings back together and change how we think about (concepts like) IQ and education," he said.