Indian edtech startup Unacademy nets $110m from Facebook, others

Unacademy, an India-based edtech company, announced that it has secured US$110 million in a series E funding round led by General Atlantic, Facebook, and Sequoia India.

Existing investors Nexus Venture Partners, Steadview Capital, and Blume Ventures, along with Flipkart CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy and Udaan co-founder Sujeet Kumar, also participated in the round.

Photo credit: Unacademy

The company plans to use the new funds to launch more exam categories, acquire top educators, and improve its content and product, according to a statement.

The Bengaluru-based company, which started in 2015, allows educators to create educational videos and offer live interactive classes. It also provides learners with access to more than 30 exam categories. Unacademy says it now has more than 1 million videos on its platform.

In 2019, the company launched its subscription plan for various exam types. The service has raked in more than 90,000 active subscribers, with 70% of its users coming from tier-two and tier-three cities, according to a statement.

“Our goal from day one has been to democratize education and make quality education accessible to everyone. We do that by bringing the best educators and content on our platform and ensuring it is accessible to everyone across the country,” said Gaurav Munjal, co-founder and CEO of Unacademy.

In 2018, The company raised US$21 million in series C funding from Sequoia India, SAIF Partners, and Nexus Venture Partners. It was followed by a US$50 million series D raise in 2019.

Several edtech startups have received significant funding in India recently. Last week, Vedantu secured US$24 million in an extended series C round led by GGV Capital, while programming-focused Coding Ninjas raised US$5.2 million in series A money.

InterviewBit, which is also backed by Sequoia India as well as Tiger Global, received US$20 million in its series A round. Meanwhile, edtech unicorn Byju’s is now said to be valued at US$8.2 billion following its US$200 million raise.