Live Tutoring Startup Filo Raises $23 Mn To Invest In Technology And Innovation

Gurugram-based edtech startup, Filo has raised $23 Mn in Series A funding round led by Anthos Capital. The round also saw participation from existing investor–Better Capital along with GSV, Sapling Capital, and a cohort of well known individual investors including Gokul Rajaram, Rob Frohwein (cofounder of Kabbage), Mate Pencz and Florian Hagenbuch (founders of Loft) and Ross Lipson (cofounder of Dutchie). 

The edtech startup will use the funds primarily for product development as it goes deeper into modeling pedagogy at scale, expanding the team, tapping new categories, and scaling its tutor base across India. 

Previously, it raised a Pre-Seed round at the idea stage and then a $2 Mn seed round in September 2021 from Better Capital, while still working in stealth mode. 

“This round of funding will give exponential pace to an already hyper-growth trajectory of Filo and help us scale the tech and innovation opportunities. We are glad our investors share a similar vision for Filo as our leadership team. The combined strategic synergies will help us realize our mission to make the concept of  ‘instant live tutoring’ a success worldwide,” said Imbesat Ahmad, founder and CEO of Filo. 

Established by Ahmad, Shadman Anwer, and Rohit Kumar, Filo is an instant-live tutoring platform that connects students with tutors with subject expertise in less than 60 seconds across the country. 

According to its statement, the startup has a presence in 15 countries, and a dynamic community of more than 40,000 tutors who are driven to help students. It aims to democratise education and make quality learning accessible for every student around the world.

The startup states that it has over 1.5 Mn downloads and more than 350K monthly active users. 

In the next 12 months, it plans to onboard over 200,000 tutors across India and conduct 2 Mn live classes every day. 

At present, India’s edtech industry is accelerating by leaps and bounds. According to a RBSA Advisors report, it is poised to become $30 Bn in size in the next 10 years. 

Of late, various developments have been noticed in the country’s edtech sphere. In February 2021,  edtech startup BrightChamps reportedly began accepting cryptocurrencies as a mode of payment. The startup will accept Bitcoin, Tether, and Ethereum as modes of payments from countries including the US, Canada, Nigeria, and Malaysia, among others. 

While, another edtech unicorn LEAD announced an ESOP monetisation scheme worth $3 Mn for its employees. This comes on the back of a recent Series E round in which the startup raised $100 Mn led by marquee investors such as Westbridge Capital and GSV Ventures. 

With the onset of the year, vernacular edtech startup Entri.app also raised $7 Mn in Series A funding round led by Omidyar Network India with participation from Boston-based Innospark Ventures and Integrated Capital, a Hong Kong-based private equity.