Online math tutoring platform Cuemath, on Wednesday, said it has raised $57 million (around Rs 438 crore) in a funding round led by Alpha Wave, doubling its valuation to $407 million.
The fresh funds will be used to strengthen product-pedagogy outcomes, growth initiatives, acquisitions, and partnerships. Currently, present in over 70 countries, Cuemath now aims to expand to over 100 by FY23. This includes bolstering its presence in North America, Asia-Pacific, UK, Europe and West Asia and capturing markets in Africa and South America.
The round also saw participation from existing investors Lightrock India, Sequoia Capital India, Alphabet independent growth fund CapitalG, Manta Ray and Unitus.
The funding round comes on the back of edtech startups struggling to raise capital, resulting in layoffs.
“Cuemath’s latest fund-raising is a significant feat given the present industry trends. Valuations have become more realistic with rationalization hitting the market; only those growth-stage start-ups with solid business fundamentals can now establish trust with VCs,” said Vivek Sunder, chief executive officer at Cuemath.
He added, “Product innovation and personalization coupled with a low capex model augmented our global scale-up and beefed our conversion rates by 3 times. With the best-in-class retention and acquisition engine, we have created a combination of a sustainable and scalable business model.”
Founded in 2013 by Manan Khurma, Cuemath offers technology-driven after-school math learning programs for children.
In September, Cuemath announced new senior appointments in its leadership team as part of its reorganization process. Cuemath has appointed Samir Kulshresth as chief financial officer (CFO), Nisha Popli as chief human resource officer (CHRO), Janardan Singh as chief of sales and Anushray Gupta as chief product and technology officer, it said.
"What distinguishes Cuemath from almost every other edtech company is that we focus on one thing and one thing only - deep math learning outcomes. In every Cuemath class, the student experiences a powerful and personalized combination of a highly visual math curriculum delivered by a rigorously trained, caring teacher. This has enabled Cuemath to have one of the best retention rates in the industry (80%), with half of all new admissions happening via referrals,” said Manan Khurma, founder and chairman, Cuemath.