[Funding alert] Edtech startup CoLearn closes Series A round at $27M led by TNB Aura, KTB Network, others

CoLearn, an edtech startup in Southeast Asia, on Thursday announced it has raised an additional $17 million as part of its Series A follow-on funding led by TNB Aura, KTB Network, and BINUS GROUP. 

The round also saw participation from existing investors AWI, Sequoia Capital India’s Surge, GSV Ventures, AC Ventures, Leo Capital, and January Capital. The company has closed the Series A round at $27 million.

This is a maiden investment for Indonesia’s university, BINUS GROUP, which has joined the company as a strategic partner. This latest round, which brings CoLearn’s funding total to $34 million, will be deployed to strengthen CoLearn’s go-to-market strategy, enabling the company to further expand its paid user base in Indonesia. 

Abhay Saboo, Co-founder and CEO of CoLearn, said,

“CoLearn is not only helping students build a strong foundation in STEM subjects but also has an immediate impact, as over 80 percent of our subscribed students have seen an improvement in their grades. With a consistent NPS (Net Promoter Score) of over 70 for our live classes and more than 90 percent organic traffic of our AI-powered homework help feature, we are actively working towards changing the mindset around online tutoring with our offering that blends AI and interactivity.”

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CoLearn, an online K-12 live learning and homework help platform, was launched in August 2020 by Abhay Saboo, Marc Irawan, and Sandeep Devaram and has amassed over 4.8 million users with over 85 million questions asked to-date. In 2021, the number of questions asked grew 5x with its AI-powered problem-solving platform, alleviating students’ as well as parents’ problems with respect to doing homework. 

The platform claims to offer video solutions with clear, concise explanations. CoLearn has a robust technology team operating out of India and UAE that focuses on building innovative solutions for the platform. The company is actively looking at expanding its team size and recruiting for data science, product, and engineering roles in these countries.

Amy Yeh, Senior Managing Director at KTB Network said, 

“The resilience CoLearn has shown during the pandemic is a testament to the team’s strength and ability to navigate the ever-changing edtech landscape. The team’s laser-sharp focus in delivering the best live class experience is quickly gaining the confidence of the students and parents alike. Tanya, their AI-powered problem-solving platform that helps with homework, addresses a key problem and therefore has become an integral part of the lives of students in Indonesia.”

Lawrence Wibisono, Managing Director at BINUS Group, added, 

“In line with BINUS’ vision, fostering and empowering the society in building and serving the nation, we are always committed to enforce educational development. Through CoLearn, we hope to continue discovering and empowering future leaders to build an outstanding company and contribute to society.”

In 2018, CoLearn started its offline business and then shifted to a hybrid model. With the pandemic, the company transitioned to a fully online platform, enabling them to remove the friction associated with offline tutoring centers. 

Today, CoLearn hosts over 4.8 million users, with 90 percent of new students coming organically. Tanya, the AI-powered platform that receives more than 10 million questions every month, matches student queries with more than 500,000 video tutorials that break down key concepts.

This new round of funding will help strengthen the company's brand presence of its cohort-based live class platform. The platform claims to have notably increased students’ academic performance, as more than 80 percent of users have seen improvements in their grades at school since joining CoLearn. 

Vicknesh R Pillay, Founding Partner at TNB Aura said, 

“With the team’s unique approach in tackling the K-12 education gap, along with unwavering motivation and hustle, CoLearn has the rare combination to become the next iconic startup from Indonesia.”

Prior to raising $17 million, CoLearn raised $10 million in Series A funding from investors Alpha Wave Incubation, edtech focused GSV Ventures and returning investors Sequoia Capital India’s Surge and AC Ventures.