Our story

What does Southeast Asia look like in 2035 if its students get the guidance they deserved all along?

That is not a distant fantasy. It is the direction Sala has been building toward since 2019.

Founded 2019 Phnom Penh & Singapore
The vision

Imagine a generation of young people across Cambodia, Malaysia, Vietnam and beyond who did not have to figure it out alone.

Students who knew which path fit them before they chose it. Graduates who entered the workforce with real skills, real confidence and real connections to employers who were looking for exactly them. Governments with the data to make education policy that actually reflects where jobs are going.

Leap Sok started Sala because he lived the alternative. Growing up in Cambodia, he had ambition but no map. He watched talented people around him take wrong turns — not because they lacked ability, but because nobody had built the infrastructure to help them find the right one. When he entered the tech industry, he carried that question with him.

Leap Sok, CEO & Co-founder
Leap Sok CEO & Co-founder
“What would change if students had access to the same quality of guidance that the most privileged students in the world take for granted?”

Sala is his answer. And after six years, it is no longer just an answer on paper.

The work

Building a platform was never enough.

From the beginning, Sala showed up where students needed it most.

  1. 2020 · During COVID

    Cambodia's first virtual university fair.

    When every physical door closed, Sala launched Cambodia's first virtual university fair so students could still explore their options. That event grew into the University & TVET Fair — now one of Cambodia's largest annual education events.

    3,000+ students / year40+ institutions
  2. Feb 2025

    The first Cambodia EdTech Summit.

    When Cambodia's EdTech community needed a home, Sala helped organize the first Cambodia EdTech Summit at the Institute of Technology of Cambodia — convened with MoEYS.

    MoEYSKOICAUNICEFUNESCOUSAID
  3. Border communities

    Run for Border Children's Education.

    When students in border communities needed support, Sala joined the Run for Border Children's Education alongside the Federation of Education Services in Cambodia and MoEYS — turning a charity run into a statement about who deserves access to learning.

    MoEYSFederation of Education Services in Cambodia
  4. May 2026

    Connecting Cambodian students abroad back home.

    Sala signed a formal partnership with CAMEX and the Federation of Cambodian Students Abroad, creating new pathways for skills exchange and career guidance across borders.

    CAMEXFederation of Cambodian Students Abroad
The platform

Six years in, the answer is no longer just on paper.

120,000+
Students
50+
Institutional partners
3,000+
Teachers
2
Countries

The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport has made Sala part of Cambodia's digital education infrastructure. Development partners including SwissContact and USAID have backed the work with real contracts. And the AI layer is now live.

What comes next

From school management software to student intelligence infrastructure.

Built on six years of real ASEAN student data.

Hero AI Hero AI

A personal career advisor for every student.

Hero AI matches students to career paths based on personality, academic history and real labor-market data — putting the right guidance in front of each student at the moment they need it.

Prism AI

Fairer, faster admissions for institutions.

Prism AI helps institutions screen and admit students more fairly and efficiently — turning weeks of manual review into minutes, without losing the human judgment that matters.

The decade bet

If Sala can put the right guidance in front of every student at the moment they need it, Southeast Asia's workforce gap does not have to be inevitable. It is a solvable problem — and we are building the tools to solve it.

Recognition

Backed by partners who measure outcomes, not activity.

Cambodia ICT Awards 2020
HolonIQ Southeast Asia EdTech 50 — 2023
HolonIQ Southeast Asia EdTech 50 — 2024
HolonIQ Southeast Asia EdTech 50 — 2025
HolonIQ SEA EdTech 50 · 3 years running Cambodia ICT Awards (CICTA) 2020

Accelerator programs

AWS & Deloitte Social Entrepreneur Accelerator (SEA)Cohort 1
Open Campus (OC-x) AcceleratorCohort 8
Transcend NetworkFellowship
SDG Blockchain Acceleratorby UNDP AltFinLab

Awards & grants

Khmer Enterprise Assistance Package2020
One ASEAN Start-up Award by ERIA2024
Investors

Backed by people who believe in the mission.

Accelerators, funds and angels who back education in Southeast Asia.

+ 3 angel investors backing the work behind the scenes
The team

A small team that kept the student at the center.

Leap Sok Leap SokCEO & Co-founder Founder
Sokmesa Khiev Sokmesa KhievInterim CTO
Reaksmey Long Reaksmey LongBusiness Development Manager

Moved fast, stayed disciplined, and kept the student at the center of every decision.

Let's talk

If you want your students to have a better shot at the future, we want to talk.

For schools, universities and career centers across Southeast Asia.