India gets fourth edtech unicorn

Good Morning,

Higher education startup Eruditus is the latest to enter the unicorn club with a valuation of $3.2 billion, following its latest $650 million Series E round. It became India’s fourth edtech unicorn and the 23rd startup to cross the $1 billion valuation mark this year. 

Founded in 2010, the Mumbai-headquartered startup offers professional courses and executive programmes in partnership with leading universities. It has 2.5 lakh users across 80+ countries.

The Series E round was led by Accel and SoftBank Vision Fund 2, along with participation from existing investors — Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Sequoia India, Bertelsmann, Prosus, and Leeds Illuminate.

The latest funding round has resulted in a massive jump in valuation for Eruditus. It was valued at around $700 million in its Series D round a year ago.

Between January and August, edtech has been among the top three funded sectors, inviting over $1.9 billion in capital across 80 deals, according to YourStory Research. That number is steadily growing. The sector's unicorn count has also doubled this week, with upGrad ($1.2 billion) joining the covered club, along with Eruditus. 

Meanwhile, soonicorn Vedantu, which was valued at $600 million in its last fundraise in July 2020, could be next. It is reportedly seeking a $1 billion valuation in its next fundraise. 

The Interview

Masoom Minawala Mehta is one of the foremost influencers in fashion. She started blogging in 2010 as Miss Style Fiesta, and eventually went on to become one of the most prominent fashion icons of India. She represented India at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival 2021. 

Masoom focuses on making digital content that educates, inspires, helps, or entertains the audience. 

Editor’s Pick: App Friday

With the worldwide rollout of COVID-19 vaccines and the gradual lifting of border restrictions, travelling for leisure could soon be a reality again. 

And if you are one of those who likes to document every place you have visited, and wants to reflect on all the travel experiences, Polarsteps is just the app for you. It helps you plan, track, and relive your holidays and adventures. Read more.

Startup Spotlight

A 23-year-old’s 2G-based food delivery business in Kashmir

Gatoes founder Jibran Gulzar is 23. Soon after college, he set up a food and grocery delivery platform that runs on the 2G network and services seven districts in Jammu and Kashmir.

Even though running a startup in J&K is a huge challenge, Jibran and his 100-member team managed to generate $1 million in GMV within 10 months of operations. “We have pushed ourselves into the Kashmiri society and showed people a product that can change their lives,” he tells YourStory. Read more.

News & Updates

• Cryptocurrency exchange WazirX has recorded a 2,648 percent growth in user sign-ups from Tier-II and -III cities of India. It said Tier-II and -III cities have driven almost 55 percent of the total user sign-ups on its platform in 2021.

• Digital entertainment technology company JetSynthesys has acquired Chennai-based esports company Skyesports for an undisclosed amount. With the acquisition, JetSynthesys will form a new entity to build esports at the grassroots level in India ahead of the Asian Games 2022.

• Amazon India announced the expansion of its fulfilment network in Tamil Nadu by almost doubling the storage capacity this year. The fulfilment infrastructure will offer storage space of close to 4.4 million cubic feet to sellers in the state.

• The agriculture sector recorded the highest 103 percent growth in new business registrations at 12,368 in FY2021, compared to 6,107 in the previous fiscal, according to a paper released by Dun & Bradstreet.

• Chandrayaan-2 — ISRO's second lunar mission — has detected the presence of water molecules on the moon, data obtained from the mission has revealed. While the life of the orbiter of Chandrayaan-2 was initially envisaged for a year, but ISRO expects it to last for seven years.

Before you go, stay inspired with… 

“COVID-19 brought edtech ahead by two to three years. Some early-stage startups got pandemic market-fit. MAUs became DAUs in three months, which is crazy. Capital has come in and capital is chasing the winners. Market leaders are getting a disproportionate premium.”

— Sajith Pai, Director, Blume Ventures

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