India’s Toppr raises $50m from Foundation Holdings

Existing investors also participated in the round. Previously, the start-up received a $60 million Series C led by Kaizen Private Equity in 2018. Other investors in the company include Eight Roads Ventures, Helion Venture Partners, SAIF India, Alteria Capital and Brand Capital, the strategic investment arm of Times Group. In total, the start-up claims it has raised more than $110 million in VC funding.

Founded in 2013, Toppr runs a learning platform for students taking competitive exams and for after-school tuition. It claims to have more than 13 million users working with more than 50,000 educators. In addition, the company says it uses artificial language solutions and natural language processing tools to enhance the learning process.

As the COVID-19 pandemic led to the closure of schools in India, Toppr has seen a surge in user activity with more than a million sessions taking place daily. It has developed an artificial intelligence-enabled software solution called Toppr School Operating System that is intended to help schools run classes online. The company has also unveiled a coding-dedicated platform aimed at younger students.

“Our objective is to work with Toppr to further cement its leading position, enhance its quality offerings and substantial growth prospects and amplify its brand enabling it to be IPO-ready and find a home on NASDAQ or an international stock exchange," said Abhishek Sharma, CEO of Foundation Holdings, in a statement 

The investment comes two weeks after live tutoring-focused peer Vedantu raised $100 million in a Series D round earlier in the month. Vedantu wants to target a younger cohort of students as rival educational platforms look to start tutoring services as well. 

India’s K-12 educational technology segment also includes video-based learning platform Byju’s, Unacademy and Vidyakul. Both Unacademy and Vidyakul offer a marketplace of educators with expertise in different types of educational programmes that students can sign up for online. Unacademy is also looking at acquisition opportunities in the educational technology space.

Foundation Holdings focuses on healthcare, education and consumer opportunities in India and the Gulf Council Countries. In April, it agreed to form a joint venture with MindChamps PreSchool, a Singapore-listed early learning institution, to establish similar learning centres in the Middle East. Last year, it invested in another joint venture seeking to expand the Ryan International Group of Institutions’ footprint in India.

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