Edtech player CollegeDekho raises $9M from Winter Capital

Gurugram-based college admissions and higher education services platform CollegeDekho has raised Rs 73.3 crore (about $9 million) in an ongoing round from existing investor Winter Capital Partners (Janeville Limited). It is the firm’s first funding round this year.

CollegeDekho’s board has approved a special resolution to allot 8,843 Series B1 preference shares to Janeville Limited at an issue price of Rs 82,927.98 each to raise Rs 73.3 crore or about $9 million, according to its regulatory filing with the Registrar of Companies (RoC).

Last December, CollegeDekho closed its Series B round at $35 million. The round was led by Winter Capital, ETS Strategic Capital—the private equity investments arm of ETS (creator of the TOEFL tests and GRE tests), Calega, and existing investor Man Capital. 

The latest round seems to be an addition to its Series B round. The edtech player had raised a total of $47 million prior to this round, as per Tracxn.

The company said that the Series B funds will also be used for acquisitions and consolidation. Subsequently, CollegeDekho bought three startups—IELTSMaterial, Getmyuni, and PrepBytes.

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Founded in 2015 by Ruchir Arora, Rajiv Singh, Saurabh Jain, and Rohit Saha, CollegeDekho aims to institutionalise student counselling in India. It connects prospective students with colleges using its proprietary technology and AI-based conversation bot. CollegeDekho specialises in education, college admission, university admission, student counselling, competitive exam preparation, and one-click education solution.

Amid the funding winter, edtech witnessed a significant 39% drop in fundraising in 2022, according to Tracxn. Around 70% of edtech funding in the year came from five $100+ million rounds raised by BYJU'S, upGrad, LEAD, and Physics Wallah.

"India has been witnessing a shakeout in the edtech startup space but this fresh round from our

existing investors is a testament to the remarkable growth that CollegeDekho team has

delivered," Ruchir Arora, Co-founder and CEO of CollegeDekho, said in a statement.

The company said its revenues reached nearly 100 crores in FY 21-22 and it is on track to double it in the

coming financial year while also turning EBITDA positive.

(The story has been updated to reflect a change in the headline and include a comment.)