WestBridge, GSV lead $100m Series E for India's Lead School
WestBridge Capital and GSV Ventures have led a USD 100m Series E round for Indian education technology platform Lead School at a valuation of USD 1.1bn.
The two investors backed a USD 30m Series D last year at a valuation around USD 500m. WestBridge also joined a USD 28m Series C in 2020 alongside impact investor Elevar Equity. The latter provided a USD 7m Series B in 2019 and a USD 1m Series A in 2017.
Lead School distinguishes itself in India’s competitive edtech space with a B2B rather than B2C model. It targets school operators, offering tools for increasing admissions, procuring books, marketing, managing operational costs, designing curricula, and otherwise ensuring quality and affordability. The idea is to support schools serving low-income demographics.
The company claims its English curriculum results in students achieving fluency 1.5x faster than competitors. Other areas of expertise are Hindi, mathematics, coding, social sciences, and environmental science. There are also gamification modules and student events such as academic tournaments.
Operations currently extend across more than 3,000 schools in 400 cities with 1.2m students. This is expected to hit 5,000 schools in 500 cities with 2m students when the new academic year starts in April. The revenue run-rate has averaged USD 80m a year for the past four years and is targeted to hit USD 1bn under the latest growth plan.
The immediate focus would be on product and curriculum innovation, expansion of the footprint, and hiring talent across functions. In the long term, the company intends to double down on lower fee schools in India while taking the model to similar markets internationally.
“Lead has emerged as the gold standard for transforming K-12 education in India,” Deborah Quazzo, a managing partner at GSV, said in a statement.
“The company … guarantees 70%+ mastery in all subjects and all grades for low and middle-income students and exceeds the guarantee. We, at GSV, believe that the mastery guarantee is a revolutionary offering in the K-12 education space and has the potential to be societally transformational for students.”
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