Edtech firm Instructure looking to set up PHL office by next year

By Aubrey Rose A. Inosante, Reporter

EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY (edtech) firm Instructure Holdings, Inc., the developer of the learning management system Canvas, aims to open a physical office in the Philippines next year amid a growing user base.

“We are continuing to invest in people and we’re looking at opening up an office here,” Harrison Kelly, Managing Director for the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region at Instructure told BusinessWorld on the sidelines of an event on Sept. 6.

“It’s going to enable us to bring tightly integrated teams together as we continue to grow out, which will provide a better experience, not only operationally for Instructure, but also to our end customers.”

Mr. Kelly said establishing an office in the Philippines is of “immediate importance” for the company and could happen within the next 12 months or sooner.

The company’s APAC headquarters is located in Sydney, Australia, while its main office is in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Instructure’s flagship product, student application Canvas, is being used in six out of the top 10 rated universities in the Philippines such as the University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University, and University of Santo Tomas.

“In the Philippines, we first set foot here in 2017. We’ve seen a market uplift over that time; COVID was an obvious accelerant,” he said.

He added that the adoption has differed per area, they mainly saw increased use of Canvas in Central Manila and other major cities in the Philippines.

“With a couple of the new things that we’ve got on the horizon, we know we can break down those barriers to access and provide that equity of learning for all,” Mr. Kelly said.

The company is investing in artificial intelligence (AI), he said. Instructure recently unveiled its new AI-powered tools, including automated discussion summaries, content translation, and a Smart Search API feature in Canvas, among others.

“We know [AI] is here to stay. We know it’s a disruptor. It’s going to be intangibly linked with people’s future, whether that’s in a school or institutional setting or whether that’s in the workforce,” Mr. Kelly said.

“But certainly, with our focus on lifelong learning, student success, and AI, that’s going to underwrite how we think about our near-term future and mid-term future,” he added.

Private equity firm KKR & Co. will take Instructure private for $4.8 billion, Reuters reported in July.

Earlier this year, Instructure completed the acquisition of academic credential management platform Parchment for $835 million. — with Reuters