Klassroom Edutech, a leading hybrid tutoring platform, has raised $200k as a part of its Pre-Series A funding round led by ah! Ventures.
Several eminent angel networks, including Startup Angel Network, Growth Sense, and Meteor Ventures also participated in the round, according to a press release provided by the lead investor.
Klassroom is focusing on the largely unorganized rural market, offering a one-of-a-kind LIVE interactive learning experience on its web-based platform and mobile application by leveraging an extremely talented group of highly experienced teachers from top institutions across the country. The platform offers live lectures on varied courses to students of ICSE, CBSE, and state boards from classes 8 to 12, IIT-JEE, NEET, CA, and other leading competitive exams in the country.
The platform differentiates itself from other EdTech players by focusing on solving fundamental problems of the education ecosystem such as affordability, accessibility, accountability, and flexibility. Since its inception in 2016, Klassroom has enjoyed a multi-fold growth in its student base, revenue, and partner network. The extensive experience in the offline coaching market and a strong partner network of over 160 brick and mortar centers across Mumbai and Delhi has helped Klassroom build an ecosystem that enabled the launching of its online business within weeks of lockdown in 2020. The startup claims that over the past 12 months alone more than 10,000 students across 500 cities, 22 states, and 3 union territories have spent over a million hours studying on its online platform, which now has a reach of 5 million students.
Speaking about the platform, Dhruv Javeri, Co-founder of Klassroom, said, “Klassroom gives offline coaching entrepreneurs an opportunity to be a part of the Klassroom brand, boost their revenues, and get them tech-enabled in this transforming ecosystem.”
Alka Javeri, Co-founder of Klassroom, said with the latest funding the company will launch similar online academic, test preparation, and supplementary courses, including foreign language, technical, vocational, and skill enhancement, in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. “This funding from ah! Ventures and other reputable networks will help us grow our existing offerings, enhance innovation in technology, and scale up to our goal of growing 10X by 2023,” added Dhumil Javeri, Co-founder of Klassroom.
For the urban market, Klassroom is planning to expand its already growing partner network from 160+ centers, currently in Mumbai and Delhi, to other cities and states once the impact of the pandemic begins to normalize. Klassroom’s hybrid business model has provided unique cross-selling opportunities, where students enrolled in physical centers can benefit from online/live tutoring and vice versa. The company is targeting the Rurban (Rural + Urban) population with the intent of making quality coaching accessible to all.
Parth Vanjara, Venture Partner at ah! Ventures, commented on the investment, “Klassroom is uniquely positioned in solving problems faced by students in rural and urban India through its hybrid platform. We are impressed by team Klassroom and what they have achieved, in such a short span of time, by tapping this highly unorganized and untouched market. We believe they have the right combination of talent, technology, and strategy to truly transform the education industry and scale up globally. Our investment in the company is aimed at helping them in their expansion and growth.”
This is ah! Ventures’ 75th investment (in 59 startups) taking its total investment portfolio to INR 210 crore ($30 million) with 10 exits to date. The latest round is also the company’s 12th investment in 2021.