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Indian VC industry sees record $10 billion investment in 2019 #Edtech SPONSOR: BetterU Education Corp. $BTRU.ca $ARCL $CPLA $BPI $FC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 2:43 PM on Monday, March 2nd, 2020
SPONSOR:  BetterU Education Corp. aims to provide access to quality education from around the world. The company plans to bridge the prevailing gap in the education and job industry and enhance the lives of its prospective learners by developing an integrated ecosystem. Click here for more information.

Indian VC industry sees record $10 billion investment in 2019: Report

The amount was 55 per cent higher than the money invested by the industry in 2018, the report by Bain & Company’s India Venture Capital Report 2020 said. At the current exchange rate, USD 10 billion translates to over Rs 72,000 crore.

  • VC exit momentum in 2019 was in line with 2018, with secondary sales leading the mode of exits in India with an average exit value of around USD 39 million

The Indian venture capital industry invested record USD 10 billion in 2019, driven by increased deal volume and larger average deal sizes, according to a report. The amount was 55 per cent higher than the money invested by the industry in 2018, the report by Bain & Company’s India Venture Capital Report 2020 said. At the current exchange rate, USD 10 billion translates to over Rs 72,000 crore.

The report, in partnership with Indian Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (IVCA), said there has been 30 per cent increase in deal volume and 20 per cent rise in average deal size in 2019 over the previous year. “Despite substantial capital deployment, dry powder availability for VC investing in India was at an all-time high of USD 7 billion at the end of 2019, indicating likely continued investment activity in 2020,” it added.

The term ‘dry powder’ refers to cash reserves kept on hand by a company, venture capital firm or individual to cover future obligations. The VC exit momentum in 2019 was in line with 2018, with secondary sales leading the mode of exits in India with an average exit value of around USD 39 million. “Despite the global economic climate, India’s startup and VC ecosystems continue to thrive as investors take a long- term view based on the country’s growth potential. We go into 2020 with record-high levels of dry powder, counter-balanced with caution and an underlying optimism in the long-term potential for the ecosystem,” Arpan Sheth, Partner at Bain & Company, said.

About 80 per cent of the VC investments in 2019 was concentrated in four sectors — consumer tech, software/ SaaS, fintech and B2B commerce and tech. Consumer tech continued to be the largest sector, accounting for approximately 35 per cent of the total investments with several scale deals exceeding USD 150 million, the report said. Within consumer tech, verticalised e-commerce companies continued to be the largest sub-segment. In addition, there were increased investments in healthtech, foodtech and edtech as well.

“The Indian VC industry had a landmark year in 2019. However, India-focused VC investments raised less funds this year, the fundraising outlook for 2020 remains positive among both LPs and GPs (Limited Partners and General Partners),” Sriwatsan Krishnan, Partner at Bain & Company and co-author of the report, said. Following the brief moderation between 2015 and 2017, the VC industry in India has been in a renewed growth phase and that is expected to continue, Krishnan added.

The Indian startup ecosystem, one of the top five globally, continued to remain robust and grow rapidly. Between 2012 and 2019, the number of startups in India increased 17 per cent each year, while funded startups increased faster at 19 per cent CAGR in the same period, the report said. Currently, of almost 80,000 startups in India, only about 8 per cent are funded, indicating room for investments, it added. The report said India-focused VC funds raised about USD 2.1 billion in 2019, slightly lower than that in 2018.

The dip was the result of marquee funds that had already raised large sums and hence did not go to the market in 2019, it added. “There is a massive pipeline of soon to be unicorns; few of the Indian Unicorns will become decacorns by 2025. All this could not have happened without the support of the current government and the exits driven by first-generation entrepreneurs in the last couple of years,” IVCA President Rajat Tandon said.

Source: https://www.financialexpress.com/market/indian-vc-industry-sees-record-10-billion-investment-in-2019-report/1886543/

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4 Reasons Why The EdTech Industry Is Set To Take Off – SPONSOR: BetterU Education Corp. $BTRU.ca $ARCL $CPLA $BPI $FC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 4:56 PM on Tuesday, February 25th, 2020
SPONSOR:  BetterU Education Corp. aims to provide access to quality education from around the world. The company plans to bridge the prevailing gap in the education and job industry and enhance the lives of its prospective learners by developing an integrated ecosystem. Click here for more information.

4 Reasons Why The EdTech Industry Is Set To Take Off

  • Education Sector is Ripe for Disruption
  • Increasing User Base of Mobile Phones and Internet
  • The Young Are Leading the Way
  • Personalization of Education  

By: Neetin Agrawal Founder, Dronstudy

With the influx of smart devices, Internet and advanced software, the scope of education is expanding to every nook and corner of India. The impact of edtech on not just the education sector but broadly on the society is applaud-worthy, which is why the edtech sector is also highly popular among aspiring start-ups.

Online learning and courses are growing at a rapid pace as professionals realize the lack of skill-based courses and poor infrastructure in the Indian education system is now affecting their careers. 

In the last few years, an increasing number of entrepreneurs have also realized the potential of edtech. The uptrend will continue, thanks to the Digital India campaign, the cultural importance of education in Indian society, and low mobile data prices.

Private equity and venture capitalfirms are also keenly investing in this sector and not just in K–12 (kindergarten to 12th grade) but also in online courses. Supplemental courses, test preparation, online certification and gamification have vast potential that is yet to be explored. 

Education Sector is Ripe for Disruption

The Indian education system has been following the same traditional approach for decades. Even though the Indian culture has always laid high emphasis on education, yet it has seen a minimal transformation. To reform the country into a digitally empowered nation, the Indian government has also launched the initiative Digital India. 

The education sector is ripe for disruption—ranging from government initiatives to steps taken by educational institutions. The country is seeing a massive wave of revolution in the edtech sector. Schools and universities are embracing digital educational tools, and even offices are encouraging their employees to take up online courses to be more efficient and productive. 

Increasing User Base of Mobile Phones and Internet

The penetration of smartphones and cheap data rates has been a game-changer for the edtechs. Today, there are over 350 million mobile phone users in India, which is expected to double by 2022. With these numbers, there is no doubt that mobile phones and digital devices are the classrooms of the future. 

Online courses, virtual classrooms, digital teaching tools in classes, and through the increasing use of cutting-edge technologies such as virtual reality, artificial intelligence and augmented reality, the delivery and methodology of learning is changing. Not just the learners and educators, but entrepreneurs are becoming increasingly aware of the potential of technology in education.

The Young Are Leading the Way 

The workplaces have changed drastically, and the education system must change along. The edtech sector is helping fill the gaps between the education system and the professional world—it is aiding individuals to develop practical skills in addition to the theory taught in classrooms. 

Edtech entrepreneurs, or edupreneurs, are mostly young minds who are passionate about technology and aspirational. They are revolutionizing the education sector by launching unique initiatives and balancing technology with learning, helping it reach students, teachers and parents across metros, and tier II and III cities.

Personalization of Education 

With technology, the educators (teachers, professors, and educational institutions) will be able to strategize and customize the syllabi as per each student. The various educational programmes today are addressing the distinct interests, learning requirements and aspirations of a learner structure. 

Online courses are offering the masses a flexible and affordable way to acquire new skills. The advancements in education are helping people access education easily, rise above traditional bookish knowledge, and gain a better understanding of a subject through videos, online study material and educational apps with a variety of learning tools. 

Education in India is yet to go a long way, but the edtech sector is overcoming the hurdles one at a time.

Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/346750

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India’s #Edtech industry is the second biggest in the world – SPONSOR: BetterU Education Corp. $BTRU.ca $ARCL $CPLA $BPI $FC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 2:45 PM on Friday, February 14th, 2020
SPONSOR:  BetterU Education Corp. aims to provide access to quality education from around the world. The company plans to bridge the prevailing gap in the education and job industry and enhance the lives of its prospective learners by developing an integrated ecosystem. Click here for more information.

India’s EdTech industry is the second biggest in the world

  • India is home to the second-highest number of EdTech companies (327), followed by Brazil (275), the United Kingdom (245) and China (101).
  • Indian EdTech startup company BYJU’S is leading the way with the highest amount of venture capital raised.
  • EdTech acquisitions are on the rise with almost 200 acquisitions in the EdTech space since 2003.

RS Components has released a new report that analyses Crunchbase data, alongside a survey targeting teachers, to reveal the state of educational technology (EdTech). The report reveals the countries that are investing in EdTech the most and the EdTech companies that are leading the way.

  • The US has the highest number of EdTech enterprises, with 43% (1,385) of all EdTech company headquarters being based in the US.
  • India is home to the second-highest number of EdTech companies (327), followed by Brazil (275), the United Kingdom (245) and China (101).
  • Sweden’s EdTech companies see the highest success rate in securing venture capital, with 57% of companies backed by VC funding.
  • Indian EdTech startup company BYJU’S is leading the way with the highest amount of venture capital raised.
  • EdTech acquisitions are on the rise with almost 200 acquisitions in the EdTech space since 2003.

RS Components has analysed Crunchbase data on EdTech companies to reveal who is investing in EdTech the most. The report looks at the countries that are home to the most EdTech companies, as well as those that have raised the highest capital, are receiving the most funding and have made the most acquisitions. The full ‘State of EdTech’ report can be found here.

Which countries are leading the way in EdTech enterprises?

With a predicted market value set to reach $252 billion in 2020, EdTech startups are on the rise all over the world. At the heart of this surge is the US, with an overwhelming majority of 43% of the world’s EdTech enterprises having their headquarters located in the United States. The country’s population size, large economy, and tech and innovation hubs, such as Silicon Valley, are likely to contribute to its success. 

India has the second-highest number of EdTech startups, with 10% being located in the country. Brazil (9%), the UK (8%), and China (3%) all make it into the top 5 countries leading the way in EdTech. 

The countries home to the highest number of EdTech company headquarters: 

Which countries are top for venture capital (VC) funding in EdTech?

When it comes to the success rates of the world’s EdTech companies in securing funding, it’s countries like Sweden, China and Italy that come to the fore, with over half of their EdTech startups successfully securing funding.

Sweden leads the way, with 57% of its EdTech startups being successfully funded, and with organisations like Swedish EdTech Industry claiming that: “Sweden will become the leading country in the world in exploiting the opportunities and effects of digitalisation in the education system”  it’s clear that there is significant confidence in the industry.

Sweden is also home to key initiatives in the EdTech field, such as EdTech Sweden – an annual event, hosted in Stockholm, that is a combination of a conference, exhibition and a networking event where experts in the field share and discuss best practices and new digital solutions that promote learning.

The countries where the highest proportion of EdTech companies are securing funding:

Where are EdTech companies receiving the most funding? 

Just under one third (31%) of EdTech companies have successfully attracted VC funding, with 1,019 enterprises in the industry attracting a total of $14 billion. When it comes to the average amount of funding each EdTech company attracts, China is where companies come out on top, with an average of $43.9 million being invested into individual EdTech companies.

Luxembourg is a close second, with EdTech companies here attracting an average investment of $35.4 million each. Compare this with the US, home to the most EdTech companies where each attracts an average of $16.6 million, and it’s clear that countries like China and Luxembourg are putting a much higher value on EdTech.

Which EdTech companies are leading the way?

India is home to the EdTech startup, BYJU’s, which has raised the highest amount of capital, at $969 million. Following shortly behind are China’s Yuanfudao at $544m and Zhangmen at $499m.

Seven of the highest funded companies are based in the US, with the likes of Coursera, Laureate Education and 2U Inc. attracting a total of $313.1 million, $400 million and $426.8 million, respectively.

Have EdTech acquisitions increased?

According to Crunchbase, there have been almost 200 acquisitions in the EdTech space since 2003. While few were made between 2003 and 2009, acquisitions have been on a steady rise since the early 2010s, with 37 acquisitions in 2018, 36 in 2017 and 33 in 2016.

The most notable acquisition in the space was LinkedIn’s $1.5 billion purchase of Lynda in 2015. The company, now known as LinkedIn Learning, is a provider of online video courses taught by industry experts in software, creative, and business skills.

A spokesperson from RS Components comments:

“EdTech is clearly seeing a huge boom at the moment, with acquisitions on the rise and its market value set to hit $252 billion this year, so it’s great to see tech entrepreneurs all over the world bringing their talents to the industry.

“With more than 40% of EdTech companies setting up their headquarters in the US, it looks like the country is becoming a hub for EdTech startups. However, with companies in China and Luxembourg receiving the highest proportion of funding and the likes of Sweden, Italy and Austria being home to the most companies that are successfully securing funding, it’s clear that there are opportunities for EdTech startups all over the world.”

Source: https://indiaeducationdiary.in/indias-edtech-industry-is-the-second-biggest-in-the-world/

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India’s #Vedantu scores $24M more for its online tutoring service #Edtech – SPONSOR: BetterU Education Corp. $BTRU.ca $ARCL $CPLA $BPI $FC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 10:34 AM on Thursday, February 13th, 2020
SPONSOR:  BetterU Education Corp. aims to provide access to quality education from around the world. The company plans to bridge the prevailing gap in the education and job industry and enhance the lives of its prospective learners by developing an integrated ecosystem. Click here for more information.

India’s Vedantu scores $24M more for its online tutoring service

  • The fresh infusion to Series C, which Vedantu first unveiled in August last year, was led by global VC firm GGV Capital.
  • Some existing investors also participated in the round. The $24 million extension broadens the five-year-old startup’s Series C round to $66 million, and its total raise to date to $82 million.

By: Manish Singh

Vedantu, a Bangalore-based startup that operates a learning app aimed at students aged between 12 to 18, has secured an additional $24 million as part of its Series C financing round as it looks to serve more students and make its brand a household name.

The fresh infusion to Series C, which Vedantu first unveiled in August last year, was led by global VC firm GGV Capital. Some existing investors also participated in the round. The $24 million extension broadens the five-year-old startup’s Series C round to $66 million, and its total raise to date to $82 million.

Vedantu serves students in grade 6 to 12 and offers live and interactive courses. Students who have enrolled for the interactive sessions are required to answer questions every few minutes by tapping on their smartphone screen or on the desktop. They also can raise their doubts at the end of the session.

Some of these sessions are free for students, but a selection of it requires a subscription, Vamsi Krishna, co-founder and CEO of the startup, told TechCrunch in an interview.

The app has amassed over 75,000 paying subscribers, a figure that Krishna expects to surpass 100,000 this year, he said. The cost of these subscriptions can vary from Rs 100 ($1.4) for students looking for sessions around a particular topic, to Rs 50,000 ($700) for long-term courses that focus on training students for undergraduate-level courses. More than 25 million users, in total, come to Vedantu app or website each month to consume free lessons.

India has the largest school-age population in the world and households in the nation are willing to invest in their children’s education to advance their lives. About a million students look to pursue under graduate courses each year, for instance.

But the quality of education and its affordability are two major challenges that millions of students, especially those living in smaller cities and towns, have to confront. An offline coaching centre can have as many as 100 students sitting in the room, with most not getting a chance to engage with the teacher. But for some, it also means there aren’t many teachers left to teach them.

From right to left: Vamsi Krishna, CEO and co-founder; Anand Prakash, co-founder; and Pulkit Jain, co-founder and head of product

In recent years, a wave of tech startups including Byju’s, which was valued at $8 billion in its most recent fund raise last week, have emerged to tackle these challenges as low-cost Android handsets flood the Indian market and mobile data prices become incredibly affordable.

Vedantu allows students to interact with their teachers through the microphone and camera on their smartphone or desktop and also through a chat box on the app. These teachers also have assistants who work with students on their doubts.

Since it’s a virtual class, Vedantu is also able to accommodate more students in a session. A paid session may have as many as 600 students while the free lessons could have 2,000, said Krishna, who is a teacher himself, and ran Lakshya Institute that helped students prepare for undergraduate-level courses until early 2014 before selling a majority stake to Mumbai-based K-12 tutoring and test preparation firm MT Educare.

Running a tech platform has also enabled Vedantu to offer its subscription service at a more affordable price than a typical offline coaching equivalent that can cost users anything between a few hundred dollars to a few thousand.

To ensure that students are paying attention and identify their weaknesses, Vedantu says it has built a patented system called WAVE that evaluates about 70 parameters including whether the student is looking at the screen. More than 90% of its students engage with the session (raise and answer questions, for one), said Krishna.

Hans Tung, Managing Partner at GGV Capital, who is joining the board of Vedantu as part of the investment, said he thinks Vedantu has reached the inflection point with its WAVE product. WAVE enables teachers to deliver “superior results as it can offer personalized education to many students at once,” he said. “We are excited to partner with Vamsi and the Vedantu team and share GGV’s global expertise and network to help them scale and shape learning outcomes for millions of students in India and beyond.”

Krishna said the startup has grown phenomenally in recent years so it is beginning to spend some money to better market its brand. In December, the startup ran some commercials on TV channels. In addition to that, Vedantu has also started to add courses to serve even younger students. The new courses are in pilot stage and would be broadly launched in a few months, he said.

Source: https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/indias-vedantu-scores-24m-more-103453756.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAMXOkOqEb0PPmTQ5AXZ9ds53Eyl4lc40TefWUy_IU_8p7idep45E8kdorerUVQwNTif3ONR83s31zGGdDOkHVCs8ZcEvIDl3m78BgbSjf2tjBJyID8xFTFE3k-EW1a6vEDCOuyYxChw_vwoVoSAQpwViZBO3rsMAPEgZd78hldFZ

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Coding Ninjas Bags $5.2 Mn From Info Edge To Expand Operations #Edtech SPONSOR: BetterU Education Corp. $BTRU.ca $ARCL $CPLA $BPI $FC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 12:15 PM on Wednesday, February 12th, 2020
SPONSOR:  BetterU Education Corp. aims to provide access to quality education from around the world. The company plans to bridge the prevailing gap in the education and job industry and enhance the lives of its prospective learners by developing an integrated ecosystem. Click here for more information.

Coding Ninjas Bags $5.2 Mn From Info Edge To Expand Operations

  • Info Edge has invested INR 37.10 Cr in Series A round of Coding Ninjas
  • The funding will also be used in expanding business in newer geographies
  • Coding Ninjas was founded by Ankush Singla, Kannu Mittal and Dhawal Parate

New Delhi-based edtech startup Coding Ninjas, on Wednesday (February 12), announced that it has raised INR 37.10 Cr ($5.2 Mn) in a Series A funding from Info Edge, the parent company of online job listing platform Naukri.

With the recently raised funds, the startup plans to scale operations and hire new professionals in tech and content teams. The funding will also be used in expanding business in newer geographies. “As Naukri is one of the major recruitment platforms, the partnership will boost the placement side of our business,” said Ankush Singla, cofounder of Coding Ninjas.

Founded in 2016 by Singla, Kannu Mittal and Dhawal Parate, Coding Ninjas offers online computer language courses that are used to design applications, software, etc. It also offers educational courses related to new-age technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), etc.

Moreover, Coding Ninjas is also planning to invest funds in its new offering Career Camp. Launched in 2019, Career Camp is a six-month-long online training programme that offers an option for students to pay for their fees from their salaries upon receiving a job offer. Coding Ninjas also offers a unique teaching assistant model which helps in addressing doubts of students in real-time. Ex-students of Coding Ninjas can also help current students in their doubt-clearing sessions.

Besides Coding Ninjas, there are various other edtech players in the space, which are offering similar courses. However, Coding Ninjas has differentiated itself from others by offering these courses in Hindi as well. The startup claims to have provided education classes to over 20K students. It also claims to have more than 2000 professors registered on the platform.

Info Edge’s CEO Hitesh Oberoi said that there are long term synergies between skill-based education and recruitment and this partnership allows the company to enter this segment.

According to DataLabs by Inc42’s latest report “The Future Of India’s $2 Bn Edtech Opportunity Report 2020”, a total of $1.802 Bn was raised by edtech startups across 303 deals between 2014 and 2019.

Among the edtech startups which have driven this growth in India are belong to K-12 and test prep segment, with certification products and services following.

In the edtech space in India, Coding Ninjas competes against Acadview which helps fresh graduates to enhance their employability by upskilling them with in-demand technologies through online live courses and industry projects. Acadview was acquired by Mumbai-based edtech startup UpGrad in October 2018. Other players in the space include Konfinity, Harappa Education, GreyAtom, among others.

Source: https://inc42.com/buzz/coding-ninjas-bags-5-2-mn-from-info-edge-to-expand-operations/

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Indian #Edtech firm #Byju’s valued at about $8.2b – SPONSOR: BetterU Education Corp. $BTRU.ca $ARCL $CPLA $BPI $FC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 12:45 PM on Tuesday, February 11th, 2020
SPONSOR:  BetterU Education Corp. aims to provide access to quality education from around the world. The company plans to bridge the prevailing gap in the education and job industry and enhance the lives of its prospective learners by developing an integrated ecosystem. Click here for more information.

Indian edtech firm Byju’s valued at about $8.2b

By: Kenan Machado

  • Indian edtech company Think and Learn, the owner and operator of learning app Byju’s, is now valued at about US$8.2 billion, following a fresh US$200 million funding by private equity firm General Atlantic, a person familiar with the company’s thinking said.

The latest injection in the company’s series F round comes after Tiger Global’s US$200 million investment last month.

“General Atlantic has been one of our strongest partners, and this additional investment shows their confidence in our vision, growth, and future,” Byju’s founder Byju Raveendran said in a press release.

The education app creates learning programs for K-12 students, as well as for other competitive exams. It currently has 42 million registered users and 3 million paid subscribers, according to the company. AD. Remove this ad space by subscribing. Support independent journalism.

This latest fundraise comes amid reports of turmoil at other Indian unicorns. The snafu at SoftBank-backed WeWork has forced many to pivot and focus on profitability, which has hurt growth prospects at a time when India’s economy is slowing.

Byju’s is one of the few profitable startups in India. It got its start in 2005, when Raveendran took a break as a service engineer for a shipping company to coach students.

The company turned profitable on a full-year basis for the financial year that ended in March 2019, Byju’s said. According to the firm, net profit stood at about US$2.8 million, with revenue of about US$207 million. It had earned about US$73 million in revenue a year earlier. However, Byju’s didn’t provide a figure for the bottom line for fiscal year 2018.

Byju’s is on track to earn a little more than US$420 million for the financial year that will end in March 2020, it said. The company adds that students use the app for some 71 minutes on average daily, and renewal rates are currently at 85%.

The firm raised US$150 million in July 2019 via a round led by sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority. Edtech investor Owl Ventures was also involved in the fundraise. Their investment in Byju’s marked the first time that the two firms backed an Indian startup. AD. Remove this ad space by subscribing. Support independent journalism.

Four months earlier in March, Byju’s raised about US$11.4 million from General Atlantic and Tencent, which took its valuation to about US$4 billion.

Other notable investors in the company are Naspers, the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, Sequoia Capital, and Lightspeed Venture Partners, among others.

Source: https://www.techinasia.com/indian-edtech-firm-byjus-valued-us82-billion

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The Landscape Of #Edtech: Mapping The Innovation Revamping #Education In #India $ARCL $CPLA $BPI $FC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 12:45 PM on Monday, February 10th, 2020
SPONSOR:  BetterU Education Corp. aims to provide access to quality education from around the world. The company plans to bridge the prevailing gap in the education and job industry and enhance the lives of its prospective learners by developing an integrated ecosystem. Click here for more information.

The Landscape Of Edtech: Mapping The Innovation Revamping Education In India

  • Over $1.8 Bn has been invested into Indian edtech startups from 2014 to 2019
  • The test prep segment has the highest capital inflow and the greatest demand in India
  • India’s tech economy growth has pushed the demand for skill development solutions

By: Sandeep Singh

From classrooms to smart devices, the medium of education and learning in India has gone through a paradigm shift. With over 665 Mn wireless internet subscribers (Q3 2019), India has seen a massive 14% increase in the addressable base for internet services in just one year. This rate of adoption has meant great things for startups and digital products and services and has given rise to personalisation and convenience when it comes to the school curriculum and off-classroom learning.

The growing popularity of online learning has provided a major push to two of the top subsectors in the edtech market— test preparation (from K-12 to entrance exams) and online certification. To put this into perspective, between 2014 to 2019, startups in test prep and online certification startups earned a whopping 88% ($1.6 Bn) of the total capital inflow in edtech.

The skewness in funding and investor interest for test prep and online certification startups is in line with the prevalence of the grades-first mentality in the Indian market as well as the need for skilled tech labour. These products are highly in demand in the Indian market because they mirror the traditional climb up the education ladder — preparation for exams and getting the right certificate for employment.

Source: https://inc42.com/datalab/the-landscape-of-edtech-mapping-the-innovation-revamping-education-in-india/

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#Tencent’s now the #Alibaba of Indian startup scene #Edtech SPONSOR: BetterU Education Corp. $BTRU.ca $ARCL $CPLA $BPI $FC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 4:00 PM on Friday, January 31st, 2020
SPONSOR:  BetterU Education Corp. aims to provide access to quality education from around the world. The company plans to bridge the prevailing gap in the education and job industry and enhance the lives of its prospective learners by developing an integrated ecosystem. Click here for more information.

Tencent’s now the Alibaba of Indian startup scene

  • Tencent’s most recent bet is on edtech startup Doubtnut, where it has led a $15 million round, its second bet in the space, having earlier invested in Byju’s.
  • The Doubtnut app allows students to take a snapshot of a particular problem, for which it claims a video solution will be provided in 10 seconds.

The Chinese tech behemoth has pipped Alibaba by closing about 10 funding deals across stages over the last six-eight months.

By: Biswarup Gooptu & Aditi Shrivastava

Chinese tech behemoth Tencent has emerged as the biggest Chinese strategic investor in the Indian startup ecosystem, aggressively closing about 10 funding deals across stages over the last six-eight months.

Its increased activity coincides with Alibaba stepping back from the domestic market after years of being among the most prolific Chinese strategics in India.

Tencent’s most recent bet is on edtech startup Doubtnut, where it has led a $15 million round, its second bet in the space, having earlier invested in Byju’s.

The Doubtnut app allows students to take a snapshot of a particular problem, for which it claims a video solution will be provided in 10 seconds.

Tencent, which operates popular messaging app WeChat, has also taken recent wagers on insurance marketplace PolicyBazaar, business-to-business ecommerce portal Udaan, video streaming platform MX Player, apart from writing smaller cheques in MyGate, Khatabook and Niyo Solutions. MX Player,Gaana is owned by Times Internet, a part of The Times Group, which also publishes this paper.

Aside of Doubtnut, it is also in talks to invest $12-15 million in PocketFM, according to sources.

PocketFM is a social audio platform for Indian languages where users can find great quality audio shows ranging from audiobooks, stories, podcasts and self-help content. “Tencent believes the market is correcting and valuations are getting more stable than what they were six to eight months back, making it the right time to take several bets across stages,” said an investor who has dealt with the firm.

Founders also highlighted that the firm is being increasingly flexible in the rights it demands as a strategic investor, in a bid to get into the best companies. “They (Tencent) have over the last few discussions been more open to lead follow-on rounds and keeping strategic rights under check, making these deals more company friendly,” said a founder who raised capital from the firm.

Another startup founder said the fund is also looking at India as a financial investment market, more than a strategic play.

It also comes at a time when India is emerging as the next frontier of growth given that fewer Chinese startups are going public due to the uncertainty caused by the country’s ongoing trade war with the US and overall sobering of valuations.

Earlier this week, ET reported that more than a dozen new China-domiciled large corporates, venture funds, and family offices are aggressively stepping up investment conversations with early-to growth-stage domestic firms.

Overall, Tencent has made at least 15 investments in India, including Swiggy, Dream11, Flipkart, Hike, and Practo.

Globally, Tencent has invested in over 800 firms, 70 of which are listed and 160 are now unicorns. Founders said the strategic value derived from Tencent’s learnings in China will be critical in their scale-up journey as they build similar models for India.

“Their experience of working with Yuanfudao in China will help our team get fresh and valuable perspective on distribution of first edtech models,” said Aditya Shankar, cofounder of Doubtnut.

Source: https://tech.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/startups/tencents-now-the-alibaba-of-indian-startup-scene/73781717

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#Edtech startup WizKlub raises nearly $1m in seed funding SPONSOR: BetterU Education Corp. $BTRU.ca $ARCL $CPLA $BPI $FC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 1:00 PM on Thursday, January 30th, 2020
SPONSOR:  BetterU Education Corp. aims to provide access to quality education from around the world. The company plans to bridge the prevailing gap in the education and job industry and enhance the lives of its prospective learners by developing an integrated ecosystem. Click here for more information.

Edtech startup WizKlub raises nearly $1m in seed funding

  • Bengaluru-based edtech startup WizKlub has raised 70 million rupees (US$980,000) in a seed round led by seed and pre-seed stage VC firm Incubate Fund India.

By: Miguel Cordon

WizKlub founder and CEO Amit Bansal / Photo credit: WizKlub

The investment round, which also included participation from Insitor Impact Asia Fund, brings the startup’s total capital raised to 120 million rupees (US$1.7 million) so far, according to a statement.

WizKlub was established in 2018 by Amit Bansal, together with a leadership team with extensive experience in education. The startup’s programs help children aged five to 15 develop cognitive skills through an AI platform that delivers personalized learning experiences.

Its higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) program makes sure that every child is a smart reader and a smart problem solver. Its SmartTech course, on the other hand, helps children develop lifelong skills in tech through the application of coding, robotics, smart devices, and AI. AD. Remove this ad space by subscribing. Support independent journalism.

With the investment, WizKlub plans to further enhance its products and expand to other markets.

“Technology is transforming the world at an unprecedented pace, which necessitates children of this generation to be lifelong learners and adept problem solvers,” said Bansal. “Our HOTS and SmartTech programs are designed for maximum impact in these areas.”

To date, the startup has over 150 centers in Bengaluru, where it helped more than 3,000 children through its programs. The programs, which are offered on a subscription basis, are on track to onboard over 10,000 learners over the next few months, the startup said.

WizKlub’s fundraise is the latest in a string of investments in India-based edtech firms. Earlier this week, Bengaluru-based InterviewBit, which offers computer science courses through live online classes, raised US$20 million in a series A round led by Sequoia India and Tiger Global.

Think and Learn, the owner and operator of leading learning app Byju’s, also raked in US$200 million from Tiger Global this month, valuing the company at about US$8 billion.

Source: https://www.techinasia.com/wizklub-raises-1m-seed-funding

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#Panasonic Enters #Edtech Market With #CareerEx, Xcelit Apps For College, School Students SPONSOR: BetterU Education Corp. $BTRU.ca $ARCL $CPLA $BPI $FC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 2:15 PM on Wednesday, January 29th, 2020
SPONSOR:  BetterU Education Corp. aims to provide access to quality education from around the world. The company plans to bridge the prevailing gap in the education and job industry and enhance the lives of its prospective learners by developing an integrated ecosystem. Click here for more information.

Panasonic Enters Edtech Market With CareerEx, Xcelit Apps For College, School Students

  • Panasonic has launched two edtech platforms — CareerEx and XcellT
  • It will offer courses in technologies such as data science, cloud computing and more
  • India Skills Report 2019 found that 50% of the job applicants in India either have very basic or no required skills for the job

Yatti Soni

Looks like edtech is slowly becoming a lucrative sector, even for consumer tech giants. The Indian arm of Japanese multinational Panasonic has launched CareerEx and Xcelit to enter the Indian edtech market. Both products are aimed at solving the skill development gap in India’s deeptech sector. 

While CareerEx is designed to help college and university students get training in emerging technologies such as data science, cloud computing, machine learning, artificial intelligence and internet of things (IoT), Xcelit is focused on school students from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. The products are said to also help schoolgoers in their preparation for competitive exams. 

CareerEx courses are priced at the starting cost of INR 9999 per month, while Xcelit courses start from INR 999 per month. The products will also offer individual tests for INR 99. Both apps are available on Android and iOS devices.
Students on both apps can get a chance to work on Panasonic projects and internships. The company has collaborated with various educational institutions to develop courses in CareerEx and Xcelit. These products have been developed for students, colleges, and universities, to bridge the existing skill development gap between the education system and the employment needs of the industry in the future, Panasonic said.

According to Atsushi Motoya, head of Panasonic India Innovation Centre, the Japanese electronics major is looking to impacting over 100K students with these edtech products in the next five years. 

Skill Gap In Indian Market

The India Skills Report 2019 found that about 50% of the job applicants in India either have very basic or no required skills for the job, which highlights the need to train individuals in the skills, techniques and technology that businesses are actually using today. Other startups in this skilling space include Pesto, upGrad, Udacity, UnAcademy and others that offer professionals and students online upskilling and reskilling courses.

According to World Economic Forum, over half of the workers in India will need reskilling by 2022, to meet the future talent demands. Also according to a Datalabs by Inc42 study, the scarcity of high skilled labour in India was one of the biggest hindrances in the business growth of deeptech startups operating in India. 

Narendra Modi government had launched the Skill India initiative in 2015. The programme aimed to train more than 400 Mn people in different skills by 2022. However till June 2018, only 40 Mn people were trained, wherein 25 Mn people were trained under the skill development and entrepreneurship ministry.

Source: https://inc42.com/buzz/panasonic-enters-india-edtech-market-with-careerex-xcelit-apps-for-college-school-students/

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