Edtech platform Uolo has raised $22.5 million in its Series A funding round led by UAE-headquartered venture capital fund Winter Capital. The funding round saw participation from existing investors Blume Ventures and the new Dubai-based fund Morphosis Venture Capital.
Prior to this round, the company had previously raised seed funding of Rs 20 crore led by Blume Ventures in November 2020.
Founded in 2013, Uolo partners with private schools and helps them develop online capabilities. It provides affordable programs aligned with school curriculums.
The Gurugram-based company provides an open architecture platform which allows third-party education publishers and content creators to develop physical learning programs for K-12 schools and students.
These programs usually come with a book, which the teacher uses during classes, as well as digital activities for students to complete at home, the company said in a statement.
“The truth is that, after a few hours of play, rest and mandatory school homework, K-12 students do not have much time left. The edtech solutions need to build on top of the six hours spent in school daily and magnify the outcomes by leveraging the smartphones available at home. The lack of alignment with school, together with exorbitant pricing is causing edtech companies to falter”, said Pallav Pandey, co-founder and chief executive of Uolo.
The company claims that it has partnered with more than 8,500 schools across India and currently reaches over 3.7 million students. It offers learning programmes in coding and English speaking. It plans to introduce more programs across STEAM subjects in the coming months.
“The first wave of edtech companies in India have proven consumer interest in online education. However, they lacked a cost-effective distribution. We believe that there will be a new generation of edtech companies capable of building organic, low-cost distribution, allowing students to study at $10 per year rather than $10 per hour. Our investment in Uolo is based on our confidence in this type of company,” said Anton Farlenkov, managing director of Winter Capital.
Winter Capital’s asset under management stands nearly at $1.4 billion across three funds. It focuses on growth equity investments across four select verticals: financial, healthcare, education, and consumer services.
In 2022, India’s edtech sector witnessed an upheaval with the re-opening of schools and colleges. However, companies in the B2B edtech space were able to get decent interest from investors.
For instance, in July, B2B edtech startup AntWalk raised $7.5 Mn in its Series A funding round led by GSV Ventures. Also, in March, Classplus, which provides a platform for educators to launch their online courses, raised $70 million.