Vedantu, a Bengaluru-based LIVE online learning platform that enables personalized learning, announced that it has raised $100 million Series D funding led by US-based Coatue Management. Existing investors Tiger Global, GGV Capital, Omidyar and Westbridge Capital also participated in the funding round.
The latest capital raising values the online live tutoring startup at $600 million, making it the second most valued Indian educational technology startup after Byju’s.
Vedantu has said it registered a 220% growth in users to 2 million unique students who attended its live classes during the past three months. Post investment, Rahul Kishore, managing director of Coatue Management, will join Vedantu’s board of directors.
“Strong growth and category leadership of Vedantu in live online tutoring — these were the main reasons for us to gain investor interest,” said Vamsi Krishna, co-founder and CEO of Vedantu. “It was a good opportunity to raise more money and create a war chest.”
The company will utilise the current funding to invest in its brand and new categories of Grade 1-5 education.
“Online learning adoption in India is at an all-time high, setting a new benchmark for the rest of the world. As we continue to focus on driving high-growth ventures, our investment in Vedantu marks our entry into the Indian EdTech market,” Coatue’s Kishore said in a statement.
Vedantu claims revenue has grown three-and-a-half times in the past four months, equivalent to growth it achieved in the whole of previous years.
The growth will largely be driven by a massive spurt in paid subscribers on Vedantu’s platform, which stood at 50,000 last year, but has been growing by about 20,000 new users each month since a nationwide lockdown end-March.
“Consolidation is happening, but compared to other parts of the world, India’s online education sector is still early in its journey,” said Krishna, adding the company will look for founders in the space where there is a strong synergy.
Vedantu, too, recently made its first investment, pumping $2 million into doubt solving platform Instasolv, which it said would help grow its base in Tier 3 and Tier 4 cities.
