Edtech Startup CENTA Bags INR 20 Cr From Colossa Ventures, Others

Edtech startup Centre for Teacher Accreditation (CENTA) has raised INR 20 Cr (around $2.3 Mn) as a part of its extended Series A funding round led by Colossa Ventures.

The round also saw participation from existing backer Discovery Asset Management and a host of undisclosed angel investors.  

The Bengaluru-based company plans to deploy the freshly raised funds in scaling up its operations and strengthening its technology stack. 

“This raise has not only given us the fuel needed for growth but also brought on board an investor like Colossa which combines a sharp sense of business growth with a great understanding of the practicalities of building a company,” said Centa founder Ramya Venkataraman.

Prior to this, the company raised INR 7 Cr in its Series A and seed funding rounds. 

Founded by Venkataraman in 2014, CENTA is a teacher certification and teacher-as-a-service platform which claims to connect more than 1.7 Mn teachers to career opportunities. 

It facilitates teachers with services including recruitment, appraisal, training and job placement. While CENTA’s largest chunk of user base is in India, the platform also hosts teachers from more than 100 countries including UAE, Nigeria, Philippines, Bangladesh and Ghana.

Besides, the platform also provides certification for teachers by conducting relevant tests. It also runs the International Teaching Professional’s Olympiad (TPO).

This comes at a time when the Indian edtech industry has been deprived of capital investments post pandemic. However, 2024 came as a relief period when the edtech startups in the country collectively raised $568 Mn, up from $283 Mn in 2023. 

While the funding amount surged, the deal count took a major hit and plunged over 38% to 29 in the year under review from 47 in 2023.

This came at the back of edtech giants, including Physics Wallah and Eruditus conducting hefty funding rounds. It is pertinent to note that together, both of these companies accounted for 62% of the total capital raised by the edtech sector in 2024.

In January, edtech startup Leap also secured $65 Mn as a part of its Series E funding round led by Apis Partners’ funds to  further double down on its product development and existing offerings.

Talking about startups focused on teacher upskilling, edtech startup Suraasa recently bagged  $6 Mn in a funding round led by Reach Capital to scale up its operations globally, talent acquisition and enhancing its tech stack.

The Indian edtech market, which is projected to reach $29 Bn mark by 2030, was hit by the ripple effect after the downfall of BYJU’s. While the sector saw some recovery in terms of investment opportunities in 2024, it is nowhere near the peak in 2021.