Leverage Edu Raises $1Mn-Plus In Pre-Series A Round Led By DSG, Blume

Delhi-based artificial intelligence-based edtech marketplace, Leverage Edu, has raised more than $1 Mn (INR 7 Cr) in Pre-Series A funding, Akshay Chaturvedi, cofounder and CEO, Leverage Edu told Inc42.

The company plans to use the fresh funds to further develop its platform for the next phase of its growth. For this, the company is looking to expand its portfolio services and at the same time, expand its presence across the country. As part of the deal, representing DSG Consumer Partners as an advisor, Chaitanya Rathi has joined the board of the company as a director.

A media report, however, said that the company has raised about $1.3 Mn (INR 9 Cr) in Pre-Series A funding.

The company’s last funding came in August, 2017, when it raised a seed round from a clutch of angel investors.

Founded in 2017 by Chaturvedi and Rajiv Ganjoo, Leverage Edu’s online platform helps students in their careers through mentorship products, end-to-end college admissions guidance, programmes to help get first-job ready, as well as one-to-one virtual career advisory for multiple career streams.

“Over the last 12 months, we have grown from a college admissions platform to a full-stack career growth company, that helps students starting grade 8 with mentorship and assessments, moves to high schoolers and college goers applying to undergraduate and postgraduate programs, and goes right up to young professionals seeking high-end career advice from best-matched experts on our marketplace,” said Chaturvedi.

The company boasts of more than 700 mentors from Ivy League universities among others along with experience centers such asApple, Goldman Sachs etc among others.

Deepak I. Shahdadpuri, managing director, DSG Consumer Partners said “We are bullish on the education sector globally and in India. There is a need in the market to help students apply to better quality global education institutions, and to advise students on their careers, to help them get better jobs. Leverage Edu aims to address these needs, providing relevant, personalised advice to students and young professionals.”

With offices in Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai, the company uses an AI tool to help students identify what programme or college they are best suited for and then matches them to a mentor, best-fitted to the profile of the student for virtual mentorship sessions.

The company also helps students with exclusive scholarships, educational loans, help on housing, forex/VISA, and more, through multiple global partnerships. This continues to be its largest category, and its focus in the coming years.

Sajith Pai of Blume Ventures, who led the deal from Blume’s side, said, “College admissions, especially international college admissions and adjacent spaces are a broken, fragmented and underserved market. As India gets richer, we are likely to see exponential growth in demand for international and new age higher ed institutions.”

According to a May 2017 Google-KMPG report, the Indian online education sector may witness up to 8X growth in the next five years.

According to a report by the India Didactics Association, the online education industry in India is projected to grow almost eight times to hit $1.96 Bn (INR 13,795 Cr) by 2021. It also added that the number of paid users in the segment is expected to grow six-fold to reach 9.6 Mn by 2021.