[Funding alert] BAce Capital leads $7.5M Series B round in Lido Learning

Amid the coronavirus-led downturn, an edtech startup has raised two rounds in week. 

Lido Learning, the edtech startup that focuses on live online tutorials, has closed a $7.5 million Series B round. The round is led by Ant Financial-backed BAce Capital, and puts the edtech startup’s overall funding at $10.5 million.

Existing investors also participated in the round. 

With schools closed and a growing number of parents exploring distance learning as an option for their children, Lido fills the crucial need for technology that connects expert teachers to students across the country. 

Benny Chen, Managing Partner at BAce Capital, said: “The first time I met the Lido team, I realised this was not just another startup, but a strong team with a united vision to provide every Indian family with equal and better quality education that they deserve.”

“In just a couple of months, Lido has built a community of students, tutors, and parents leveraging its technology to make education more accessible, and improve the interaction between students and tutors significantly by measuring learning results,” he added.

Interactive online learning

Launched in April 2019, Lido aims to solve the one-size-fits-all approach to education in India through live, small group, highly interactive, online tutorials led by expert tutors. 

Within a year, the edtech startup has built a rapidly growing customer base across all major cities. It offers math and science tutorials for Classes 5-9 in ICSE and CBSE syllabi. 

With the new funding, Lido plans to build a presence in Tier II and III towns to democratise high quality education across India. It will also expand into more curriculum-focused subjects, and 21st-century skills like analytical thinking, critical reasoning, communication, collaboration, and creativity.

Lido Founder and CEO Sahil Sheth said: “We are excited for this next stage of growth as online tutorials are going to take off in a big way in India. With high-speed internet penetration, the tech infrastructure is ready, and as more students and parents experiment with online learning in the current pandemic, the customer mindset is ready.”

The edtech startup wants to make sure the online tutorial experience is significantly better than the offline one. This is why it is focusing on building extreme personalisation with AI and advanced analytics, while ensuring the fun of going to tuition classes with friends, and having a teacher in a small group format. 

Lido aims to build 250 million unique learning journeys for 250 million unique Indian students.

This is BAce Capital’s first edtech investment in India, as part of a strategy to continue investing in early-stage companies in emerging economies, focusing on India and Southeast Asia. 

“During the tough season of a global pandemic and in the years after, BAce is committed in supporting Lido to deliver the best quality tutoring services to Indian families,” Chen said.

(Edited by Teja Lele Desai)