Edtech startup Toppr raises ₹350 crore from Foundation Holdings

BENGALURU: Edtech startup Toppr has raised $ 50 million (Rs. 350 crores) in a Series D funding round led by global investment firm Foundation Holdings. Other longtime partners, including Kaizen Private Equity, also participated in the round.

Zishaan Hayath, CEO and co-founder of Toppr recently, said the company is in talks with new investors to raise capital to launch two new platforms for Coding and Schools.

"This investment will also help develop a School Operating System (OS) based on Artificial Intelligence, an innovative platform for schools to operate digital learning within the school and after school to create a unified and personalized experience," said Zishaan Hayath, CEO and co-founder of Toppr.

Toppr raised $ 60 million in December 2018 as part of its Series C, led by Kaizen PE, along with existing investors Eight Roads Ventures, Helion Ventures, and SAIF Partners. 

So far Toppr has raised around $ 110 million (₹700 core), the company said.

With this round, Toppr joins bigger edtech that have successfully raise capital despite the COVID crisis. Byju’s raised about $ 100 million from US tech investor Bond in May, while Unacademy raised $ 110 million from Facebook and General Atlantic in February.

The Holding Corporation is a global investment company that has led successful subscriptions on the New York Stock Exchange, the London Stock Exchange, the Australian Stock Exchange, and the Dubai Financial Market.

Abhishek Sharma CEO, Holding Corporation said: "Our goal is to work with Toppr to further enhance its leadership position, enhance its quality offerings and meaningful growth prospects, and expand its brand so that it is ready for public offering and finding a home on the NASDAQ or international stock exchange. 

Toppr claims to have more than 1.3 crore learners on its AI platform and help them prepare for school, council, and various competitive exams. Natural language processing is used to immediately resolve the student's doubts.

Aakash Sachdev, Managing Director of Foundations, said: "... our ambition is to implement an industry-leading model to deliver blended learning that is powered by artificial intelligence by enabling educational institutions and teachers to create a platform for change. and its impact." “Our investment in Toppr also reflects our commitment to training great teachers with the new school operating system. Sachdev, who will join the Toppr Board, added that the new School Operating System already contains more than 55,000 students.

Like other e-learning platforms, Toppr also benefited from the shutdown when a coronavirus outbreak forced educational institutions to suspend classroom instruction in March. It claims to have emerged as the top traffic destination for learning K-12 and hosts over a million sessions every day. The Toppr community of more than 50,000 teachers across the country has contributed to more than 35 educational pieces, including student questions, solutions, concepts, games, and videos. 

Market research firm HolonIQ predicts that more than $ 87 billion will be invested in EdTech over the next ten years, almost three times the amount compared to the previous decade. According to the latest research from Ken Research Management Consulting, the online education market in India is growing 20% more annually and is expected to reach $ 2 billion by 2021.

Source: Livemint

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