Edtech startup Doubtnut nets $15m in Tencent-led round

Doubtnut, an Indian education platform, announced that it has secured US$15 million in a series A funding round led by Chinese tech giant Tencent, with participation from existing investors Sequoia Capital India, Omidyar Network India, AET Japan, and Ankit Nagori, the co-founder of Cure Fit and a former Flipkart exec.

The startup plans to use the funds to widen its pan-India distribution, build on its content repository to cater to a “fast-expanding target group,” strengthen its tech stack, and scale its team, according to a statement.

Photo credit: Surge

Launched in October 2017, Doubtnut is an online multilingual learning platform that caters to students under the K12 program and those studying for the Joint Engineering Entrance exam, the National Eligibility Entrance Test, and the Indian Institute of Technology exam.

The doubt-clearing app uses image recognition, natural language processing, and machine learning algorithms to provide video-based solutions in response to students’ queries.

To use the app, students only need to take a photo of a problem and the app will serve up a video of the solution within 10 seconds. It can read questions in 11 Indian languages, as well as English, according to the statement.

The startup claims to have more than 1.2 million daily users and over 13 million monthly active users across several platforms, including web, app, YouTube, and WhatsApp.

The service is popular in low-income groups where demand for low-cost educational services is high.

Citing a 2017 Google-KPMG report, the company said that Indian edtech firms need to tackle “real-time query resolution” in order to acquire and retain customers. Despite the number of online learning platforms in the country, problem solving remains a key challenge.

“Indian edtech sector has reached maturity to support frequent use cases like doubt solving, homework help in a language of the student’s choice. That’s a smart way of building growth and monetization,” said Manish Kheterpal, managing partner at WaterBridge Ventures, one of the first institutional investors of Doubtnut.

In March 2109, Doubtnut closed its pre-series A round with Sequoia Capital India’s Surge program, Waterbridge Ventures, Omidyar Network India, and AET.