School edtech startup, LEAD has raised a fresh funding of $100 million at a valuation of $1.1 billion, making it the third unicorn of 2022 after Mamaearth and Fractal. This was a Series E funding, which was led by the WestBridge Capital and GSV Ventures, making this one of their largest edtech investments, as per a company statement. The company’s valuation has doubled in the last 9 months on the back of strong growth in its operating and financial metrics. The current round is its fifth round of institutional funding since 2017.
The edtech firm is focussed on transforming core schooling in India with its tech-integrated solutions. The company has seen rapid adoption in the last 4 years and will enter Academic Year 22-23 with 5,000 schools across 500+ cities in India with an annual revenue run-rate of $80 million. The online education platform claims to cater to 2 million students through its curriculums.
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 billion. 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, as per an official statement.
“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,” LEAD co-founders Sumeet Yashpal Mehta and Smita Deorah said in a joint statement.
“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,” WestBridge Capital Managing Director Sandeep Singhal said.
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.
Source: msn.com
