LEAD, India’s largest School EdTech player, has raised US $100 million in Series E funding round at a valuation of $1.1 billion to continue its mission of transforming schools in India.
The funding round was led by WestBridge Capital and GSV Ventures, making this one of their largest EdTech investment to fuel the company’s ambitious vision of providing excellent education to every child, the statement said.
The company plans to use the proceeds to achieve its vision of providing quality affordable education to 25 million+ students with an annual revenue run-rate of $1 Bn. Immediate focus would be towards product and curriculum innovation, growth in its footprint and hiring top talent across functions. In the long term, the company plans to go deeper in the country to serve students in lower fee schools and expand internationally in similar geographies, according to the statement.
LEAD Co-founders Sumeet Yashpal Mehta and Smita Deorah said, “A child spends 6 hours in school and only 1 hour in tuitions. Transforming schools, when done right, has massive potential to alter our country’s future. LEAD, with its integrated school system has broken new ground in this direction. We believe that in EdTech, Saraswati precedes Lakshmi. Our intense focus has been on learning outcomes and life success of our students. And this has resulted in not only strong adoption and retention by schools but also interest from investors who value returns with real impact. We’re extremely thankful to our team of LEADers for staying true to our mission and helping take LEAD to all corners of the country. And we’re fortunate to have the trust and support of partners such as WestBridge, Elevar Equity and GSV in this journey. This is a small milestone in our quest towards excellent education for every child.”
WestBridge Capital Managing Director Sandeep Singhal said, “We are extremely proud of LEAD’s success as the largest School EdTech provider in India. LEAD’s growth last year, despite COVID disruptions, underlines its consumer first approach and deep focus on learning outcomes. We are excited to double down our investment in LEAD, to support in its mission of transforming the education sector in India and touching lives of millions of students.”
GSV Ventures Managing Partner Deborah Quazzo said, “LEAD has emerged as the gold standard for transforming K-12 education in India. The company acts as the Intel inside for affordable schools and guarantees 70%+ mastery in all subjects and all grades for low/middle income students and exceeds the guarantee. We, at GSV, believe that the mastery guarantee is a revolutionary offering in K12 education space and has the potential to be societally transformational for students. With this strong and unique value proposition and exceptional management team, LEAD is well on its path to become world’s largest and most impactful School EdTech company.”
Founded by Sumeet Yashpal Mehta and Smita Deorah in 2012, LEAD has been transforming core schooling in India with its innovative full-stack School EdTech solution. Over the years, LEAD has been making global-standard education accessible and affordable to students, especially in non-metro cities. The curriculum in a LEAD-powered school is benchmarked with the best in the world, including schools in Singapore, Canada and USA.
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