Mumbai-based Haygot Education Pvt. Ltd, which operates ed-tech startup Toppr, has raised additional capital as part of its Series B round of funding from existing institutional investors.
Toppr, which competes with the likes of Bengaluru-based Byju’s, has raised Rs 45 crore (around $7 million) in the latest transaction, a person privy to the development told VCCircle.
“SAIF Partners, Helion Ventures and FIL Capital Management (which is part of Eight Roads Ventures) put in a major portion of the money,†the person said, asking not to be named.
The investors picked up an 11.37% stake in the firm, he said.
Toppr confirmed the fundraise. “This is a second round of Series B funding by our existing investors. It is the reflection of our healthy unit economics and a reinforcement of the belief that the investors have in us,†the company said in an emailed statement to VCCircle.
“This capital will be used to expand the geographical foot print and accelerate user acquisition. We expect this capital to take us to full profitability,†it added.
Toppr was founded in 2013 by Zishaan Hayath, who previously worked with Opera Solutions and ITC Ltd, and Hemanth Goteti, who was previously head of engineering at Futurebazaar.com and also worked with Qlip Media, Synechron and Ubiquity Inc.
Before setting up Toppr, Hayath—who has backed firms such as Housing.com and Ola in his capacity as an angel investor—had also co-founded phone commerce startup Chaupaati Bazaar which was acquired by Future Group in September 2010. He has also operated an angel investment group called Powai Lake Ventures.
Toppr is a test preparation platform for engineering, medical and secondary school students. The firm covers exams such as IIT JEE and BITSAT in engineering; NEET, AIIMS, AIPMT, AFMC, MT-CET and EAMCET in medical; and NTSE, NSO, NSTSE and KVPY, among others.
Users are charged a fee that ranges from Rs 250 per month to Rs 6,900 for three years. Toppr is also available on Android.
Last year, the company acquired EasyPrep, an online entrance exam preparation platform, for an undisclosed amount.
In April this year, the firm raised a bridge round of funding led by Mauritius-based WGG International Ltd.
In April 2016, Toppr had raised $10 million (Rs 63.5 crore) in Series B funding from Fidelity Growth Partners India, SAIF Partners and Helion Venture Partners.
In October 2015, the startup had raised $2 million debt funding from InnoVen Capital. In May 2014, the firm had raised $2 million (Rs 12 crore) in seed funding from SAIF Partners and Helion Venture Partners. Previously, it had also raised angel funding.
Deals in ed-tech segment
Ed-tech startup Byju’s raised an undisclosed amount in March from Belgian family office Verlinvest, just three months after closing its previous round. The Sequoia Capital-backed startup has raised around $170 million over the past year.
Earlier this year, another significantly funded player in the space, Cuemath, raised $15 million in Series B funding from CapitalG—formerly known as Google Capital—and existing investor Sequoia.
Ed-tech firm Simplilearn Solutions—which won the News Corp VCCircle education company of the year award for 2017—is looking to raise $30-40 million from growth-stage investors, as it aims to triple revenue to $100 million within three years. The company has so far raised $28 million in venture capital funding.
Other ed-tech startups that have attracted investors’ interest include eShiksa, Genext Students, Embibe and Nactus India.
India’s online education industry is expected to grow almost eight times to hit $1.96 billion by 2021, with the number of paid users rising six times to 9.6 million from 1.6 million now, according to a report by Google and consultancy firm KPMG.
