Leverage Edu, an overseas-focused higher education counselling platform run by Leverage EdTech Pvt Ltd, has secured Series C funding of $40 million (around Rs 320 crore) led by Princeton-based language testing conglomerate ETS.
The round also saw participation from its existing investors like Blume Ventures, DSG Consumer Partners and Kaizenvest PE, while Amaya Ventures joined as new backer.
The existing round, valuing the edtech firm at about $150 million, is at a markup of about 35-40% to its previous valuation, when it raised about $22 million in its Series B round last year.
This year in May, VCCircle first reported that the Noida-based firm was in talks with a clutch of investors to raise about $40-$45 million.
The fresh proceeds will be deployed to strengthen its presence in the US and Australian markets.
Founded in 2017 by Akshay Chaturvedi, Leverage Edu provides full-stack services to students pursuing international education and careers, offering dedicated counselling, application support, college admissions, education loans, international money transfer and student accommodation.
It launched the ‘Study Abroad with LeverageEdu' app last year, which has over a million downloads already. It has also forayed into loans and foreign remittances.
The company has grown its revenue about 2.5X in the last financial year, ending FY23 at about a revenue of Rs 100 - 110 crore, according to people familiar with the matter. It had reported a revenue of Rs 40 crore in FY22.
The company also said in a closed-door conference held last month that it was EBITDA positive for the quarters-ended April and December, in contrast with most edtech startups that are making losses.
Its loan book has also been steadily growing. In March 2022, the company had a loan book of Rs 30 crore. By March 2023, the number stood at Rs 370 crore. It has so far facilitated loans worth Rs 700 crore.
In September 2021, Leverage Edu raised an undisclosed amount of growth capital from Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Oyo India and Southeast Asia CEO Rohit Kapoor and others.
In the same year, the startup also raised $6.5 million in a Series A funding round led by Tomorrow Capital, joined by existing investors Blume Ventures and DSG Consumer Partners.
The company is aiming to gain ground in the US, where ETS has a strong presence. ETS (Educational Testing Service) is global education testing and assessment organization, which conducts GRE and TOEFL.
"It is a kind of a win-win partnership, where Leverage Edu could help ETS grow its market share in India, while allowing the startup to spread wider in US," according to a person familiar with the matter.
