[Funding alert] Sunstone Eduversity raises $28M in Series B from WestBridge Capital, others

Sunstone Eduversity Pvt. Ltd., owned by Sunstone Education Tech, on Wednesday said it has raised $28 million (about Rs 208.8 crore) in funding, led by WestBridge Capital.

The series B round also saw participation from existing investors Saama Capital and Alteria Capital as well as Work10m -- a work-focussed fund by Pankaj Bansal, Group-CEO PeopleStrong, a statement said.

The company will use the fresh capital to invest in cutting-edge learning and technology assets, building a network of colleges across multiple cities, and hiring across different functions, it added.

Sunstone has over 300 employees and is planning to hire across technology, growth, product, and learning functions.

Sunstone - an edtech startup offering higher education programmes - said it is currently the third largest B-school in the country, and in the next five years aims to be the largest higher education provider in India.

Sunstone, in partnership with various universities, has added three new programmes -- BBA, MCA, and online MBA -- this year and will be introducing various undergraduate programs such as BCA, B Com and BSc in the next 12 months, the statement said.

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It will be enrolling over 25,000 students across 35 cities by the end of 2022, it added.

The institute is registering a 4X growth over student enrollments in 2020. It has expanded its presence in 24 campuses across 18 cities, which includes institutions such as GD Goenka University, JECRC University, Noida Institute of Engineering and Technology, and others.

Sunstone works closely with corporates to develop industry-ready programmes for both postgraduate and undergraduate students with a special focus on BFSI (banking, financial services and insurance), business analytics, logistics, sales management, retail, digital marketing, and others.

"Education experience for a majority of students is still archaic, input driven, with zero focus on outcomes. Sunstone flips the norm by putting outcomes at the forefront, and arms each student with tools they need to realise their dreams," Sunstone Eduversity co-founder Ashish Munjal said.

On the investment into Sunstone Eduversity, Sandeep Singhal, Managing Director, WestBridge Capital said,

“Sunstone’s higher education programs have the potential to bring in the much awaited transformation in the Indian education system where students will now have access to a high quality education product in all corners of the country. We are excited by Sunstone's growth and the innovation in technology and learning systems so far and look forward to the next phase of growth.”

(Disclaimer: Additional background information has been added to this PTI copy for context)