British educational technology platform Doris is embarking on a major global expansion, targeting the lucrative $60 billion international school sector. The UK-headquartered company, which specialises in school discovery for parents, is now being rolled out across Southeast Asia and beyond following a successful inaugural year marked by rapid growth.
Ambitious Global Rollout Underway
A territory-by-territory expansion is currently in progress, with the development team aiming to have 10,000 school profiles live across multiple countries by the end of March 2026. Once this ambitious target is achieved, Doris will become the most comprehensive online school discovery platform ever created for the international K-12 education market.
Founder's Vision for Industry Disruption
Chief Executive Officer Nik Higgins, who launched Doris following the multi-million-pound sale of his previous venture The Ambassador Platform, explained the company's mission. "In a short space of time, we have taken a genuinely powerful idea and turned it into a platform that is both changing lives and challenging an industry where the status quo has dominated for far too long," Higgins stated.
"We are laser-focused on creating the most intuitive, parent-centric school discovery experience possible, and we are already seeing significant shifts in online behaviour. Families can now search for international schools in a much more parent-friendly way, with some help from Doris AI."
Impartial Recommendations Through AI Technology
The platform's unique selling point is its complete impartiality. "Because the platform is fully impartial, they can trust that every recommendation is based on fit, not on which school shouts the loudest or spends the most on marketing," Higgins emphasised.
For educational institutions, Doris provides unprecedented access to valuable data analytics. "For schools, Doris unlocks access to deeply meaningful datasets for the first time. Through their personal dashboards, admissions teams can understand parent search behaviour, sentiment, competitive positioning and much more," the CEO added.
Prestigious Early Adopters
Several prominent international school brands have already embraced the platform as early adopters:
- Dulwich College Singapore was the first institution to join
- German European School Singapore (GESS) followed closely
- Stamford American School Hong Kong recently became a partner
- Hangzhou International School joined following expansion in East Asia
Dual-Function Platform Design
The platform has been meticulously designed to serve both parents and school admissions teams simultaneously. Parents can either manually search using nuanced criteria or engage directly with the AI assistant named Doris, which delivers curated recommendations after asking targeted questions.
For educational professionals, marketing and admissions teams gain access to bespoke data dashboards offering real-time insights into how prospective families interact with their school profiles. This introduces a level of statistical and behavioural analysis previously unseen in the international K-12 sector.
Strategic Growth and Team Expansion
The global expansion is being led by co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Tom Shacham and follows the successful completion of a fundraising round that attracted interest from investors in both the UK and overseas.
This growth coincides with significant team expansion, including several key appointments:
- Giulia Ceccon as Chief Marketing Officer
- Ryan Rudisaile as Director of School Partnerships
- Luca Eto as Senior Software Developer
- Aziza Francienne as B2C Marketing Manager
Creating a "Perpetual Dawn" in Education Technology
Higgins described the expansion as a groundbreaking achievement. "Our expansion into every country with an international school or kindergarten is a major milestone. It represents a step that has never before been taken by a technology platform operating in the international K-12 space," he declared.
"We are proud disruptors. We have created a perpetual dawn - a constant sense of progress. New schools are joining, new functionality is being rolled out, and new opportunities continue to emerge. The future is incredibly exciting."
The platform's expansion represents a significant development in educational technology, offering parents unprecedented transparency in school selection while providing educational institutions with valuable data-driven insights previously unavailable in the international education market.
