Bengaluru-based online tutoring platform Vedantu is the fifth Indian ed-tech company to gallop into the unicorn club on September 29, 2021, after raising $100 million in the ‘Series E’ round led by Singapore-based impact investing fund ABC World Asia. With the funding, Vedantu’s valuation is around $1 billion.
The round was led by Temasek-anchored impact investor ABC World Asia and existing backers – Coatue Management, Tiger Global, GGV Capital, Westbridge, and others investing. The company is the fifth EdTech (educational technology) platform to achieve this feat after Byju’s, Unacademy, Eruditus and upGrad.
Founded by Vamsi Krishna, Pulkit Jain, Anand Prakash, and Saurabh Saxena in 2014, Vedantu currently provides live coaching classes for K12 students, including entrance exams as IIT JEE Main. SuperKids is its newest offering which offers extracurricular classes like English speaking, reading, and coding courses.
Vamsi Krishna, CEO, and Co-Founder, Vedantu, said, “Back in 2014 when we held our first LIVE class, nobody believed this would work. It is super satisfying to see this format becoming mainstream and Vedantu leading the way in innovative online delivery experiences. We will continue to innovate to reach as many students as possible and create 10x better experiences and outcomes for every child at Vedantu.”
Ed-tech adoption increased with the pandemic
The pandemic has shown us that remote learning offers promising results and the industry can remain optimistic and usher in positive change. It has highlighted several aspects that the ed-tech sector can serve.
Ed-tech players can create affordable, innovative and sustainable solutions that tackle each problem effectively. Better penetration of technological solutions and faster adoption where the need is greatest and awareness is low will help.
Sugandhi Matta, Chief Impact Officer, ABC World Asia, said, “Vedantu embodies our investment themes of providing better access to quality education and using digital technology to improve lives and livelihoods. With EdTech experiencing meteoric growth in India, Vedantu as the pioneer and category creator in LIVE online tutoring is driving the tectonic shift towards online learning.”
While the pandemic hit several other sectors, the online learning space in India witnessed a $2 billion funding in 2020, according to a report by Research firm Tracxn. India’s ed-tech industry is expected to be a $30 billion market size by 2030.
