Edtech Startup Classplus Bags $70 Mn From Tiger Global, Alpha Wave

SUMMARY

The funds would be used to enhance the product and expand Classplus' global presence

It has seen more than 100K educators and content creators from 3000+ towns and cities across India using its platform

The startup claimed that majority of its educators have witnessed a 2-3X increase in profitability within six months of joining its platform

Delhi NCR-based B2B edtech startup Classplus has bagged $70 Mn in a Series D round co-led by Alpha Wave Global and Tiger Global.

The fundraise would help the startup enhance its products and expand its presence globally. It would also be used on new acquisitions and partnerships.

Abu Dhabi-based Chimera Ventures has joined as a new investor in this round, while existing investor, RTP Global, has doubled its investment in the edtech startup.

The new round values Classplus close to $600 Mn, a more than 2X jump in the valuation from the previous round.

According to regulatory filings accessed by Inc42 on March 11, 2022, Classplus raised about $62 Mn (INR 474 Cr) in a fresh round of funding led by existing investors Alpha Wave Ventures and Tiger Global.

This Series D round of funding comes eight months after Classplus raised a $65 Mn series C funding in June 2021. This was the fourth round of funding in the last 15 months. The edtech startup counts Sequoia Capital’s Surge and Times Internet as its early backers.

Since its inception in 2018, the startup has raised around $160 Mn by global investors Tiger Global, AWI, RTP Global, Blume Ventures, Sequoia Capital India’s Surge, Spiral Ventures, Strive, Times Internet and Abu Dhabi-based Chimera Ventures.

Founded by Mukul Rustagi and Bhaswat Agarwal, Classplus is a mobile-first SaaS platform that allows educators and content creators to build their online presence, digitise their offline tuition centres and sell their courses online.

“We’ll be deploying the infused funds to take our product up by notches and expand our presence globally. We’ll also be investing on new acquisitions and partnerships that will enable us to continue delivering best-in-class experience to educators and helping them create an impact in the education system,” said Mukul Rustagi, CEO and cofounder, Classplus.

The startup claimed that it has witnessed adoption from not only academic educators from K-12 and exam preparation categories but also non-academic content creators from categories such as fitness, lifestyle, personal finance, language training and programming amongst others.

Classplus claimed that it has digitised more than 1 Lakh educators across 3,000+ cities serving 25+ Mn students with more than 75% of its educator base coming from Tier 2 cities in India.

Further, Classplus directly competes with Teachmint that enables teachers to create their own virtual classrooms. Teachmint raised $78 Mn in October 2021, led by Rocketship.vc and Vulcan Capital. The edtech startup acquired Teachmore in a cash and stock deal in December last year.

Meanwhile, the edtech sector saw an upward trend in fortunes in the past two years, largely due to the Covid-19 pandemic-induced demand. This led to the widening of the market and a slew of players in the sector such as BYJU’S, Upgrad, Pesto, Vedantu, LEAD, Unacademy, among others.

This is also reflected in the overall data related to the edtech sector. According to an Inc42 Plus report, India’s edtech market opportunity is poised to grow to $10.4 Bn in 2025, at a CAGR of 39%.

In 2021, edtech startups raised more than $4.7 Bn to emerge as the third-most funded Indian startup sector of 2021, with only ecommerce ($10.7 Bn) and fintech sectors ($8 Bn) attracting more investment.

Prior to 2020, the education sector never received so much attention from investors. However, this changed drastically in 2020, with the Covid-induced lockdowns.

Last year, the edtech sector saw the making of three new Indian unicorns—Eruditus, upGrad and Vedantu. With LEAD, Indian edtech startups in the unicorn club now stands at six.