[Funding alert] Edtech startup Ruangguru closes $150M Series C round led by General Atlantic and GGV Capital

Ruangguru, an online education platform in Indonesia, on Thursday announced that it had raised $150 million in Series C funding led by growth equity company General Atlantic and venture capital firm GGV Capital. Existing backers EV Growth, UOB Venture Management and a number of new investors also participated in the round. 

The company said it would use the funding to expand its product offering across Indonesia and Vietnam. 

Sandeep Naik, Managing Director and Head of India and Southeast Asia at General Atlantic, said, 

“Ruangguru’s affordable pricing model, enabling the company to deliver its resources to the masses, is a model that truly resonates in Indonesia. Technology-enabled education in emerging markets is a key investment theme for General Atlantic, evidenced by our partnerships with companies such as Byju’s, Hotmart, Arco, Open Classrooms, and Little Golden Star.”

This marks General Atlantic’s second investment in Indonesia after PT MAP Boga Adiperkasa, a food and beverage retailer operating seven exclusive brands in Indonesia, including Starbucks, Pizza Marzano, Krispy Kreme, Cold Stone Creamery, Godiva, Genki Sushi, and Paul Bakery. 

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As part of the investment, Ashish Saboo, Managing Director and GA’s Head of Indonesia, will join the board of Ruangguru. He added, “We look forward to leveraging experiences from our global portfolio, particularly in technology-enabled education in emerging markets, to help fuel Ruangguru’s continued expansion.”

Founded in 2014 by Adamas Belva Syah Devara and Iman Usman, Ruangguru’s most popular product, ruangbelajar, is an online self-learning platform that offers topic-based journeys, comprising animated videos, quizzes, infographic summaries, and mock tests. Ruangguru serves over 15 million students, manages 300,000 teachers, and works closely with all levels of the Indonesian government. 

Iman Usman, Co-founder and Chief Product and Partnership Officer of Ruangguru, said, 

“In addition to ruangbelajar, other products include online live tutoring, a tutoring marketplace, skills and professional training videos, and a corporate training platform. We focus on building a comprehensive curriculum, and most importantly, a clear and enjoyable learning experience using AI-driven personalised teaching. Currently, 80 percent of our students are from outside of Jakarta. This demonstrates the acceptance of our products and their effective distribution.”

Belva Devara, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Ruangguru, expects that the partnership with General Atlantic and GGV Capital will help accelerate the company’s mission of providing equal access to high-quality and affordable educational material through technology.

Prior to this round, in 2017, the company secured an undisclosed Series B round led by UOB Venture Management, the private equity arm of Singapore-based UOB Ltd.

Jixun Foo, Managing Partner at GGV Capital, said, 

“Our partnership with Belva, Iman, and the Ruangguru team is underpinned by our unwavering commitment to team up with local founders who show real passion and ingenuity in solving fundamental problems of our time – education is one of them. By leveraging technology to distribute high-quality content, Ruangguru makes great education accessible to millions of students.”

(Edited by Teja Lele Desai)

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