GGV leads $24m round for India's Vedantu
Indian online tutoring service Vedantu raised $24 million in an extended Series C round led by GGV Capital. It is the latest example of the primarily China-focused manager's push into India.
Last year, Vedantu received $42 million in a Series C round led by Tiger Global Management and WestBridge Capital. The latest fundraise, which includes contributions from existing investors, brings the total capital committed to $85 million, according to a statement. Previous investors include Omidyar Network, Accel Partners, LGT Group and China-based education technology developer TAL Education.
Founded in 2011, Vedantu operates a live tutoring platform where students can pay for personalized teaching with membership programs of varying durations. The company offers both one-on-one and group classes. Tutoring sessions cover educational material for grades six through 12 and competitive exams. The fresh capital will be used to hire teachers for early childhood and kindergarten tutoring sessions.
Last year, Vedantu made a number of user interface improvements, allowing it to offer live quizzes and interactive digital whiteboards. According to a blog post, the company claims to have 10 million monthly users, mostly accessing free content. The Economic Times reported that it has 250,000 paid subscribers.
“We think Vedantu has hit an inflection point with its WAVE product through which teachers with a track record of delivering superior results can offer personalized education to many students at once,” said Hans Tung, a managing partner at GGV, in a statement.
The funding comes shortly after General Atlantic invested in Byju’s, an online learning provider that leverages pre-recorded video-based lessons chiefly targeting students outside metropolitan hubs. Both firms count Tiger Global Management as an investor.
Other Indian start-ups that offer live paid online teaching sessions for school students include Vidyakul and Toppr. In India, GGV has also invested in Khatabook, a record keeper for small businesses, and Udaan, a B2B e-commerce platform.
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