Edtech startup Toddle raises $17 million in Series A round from Sequoia Capital India, others

• ByStartupStory     |    January 10, 2023

On January 10, edtech SaaS startup Toddle announced that it has raised $17 million in a series A funding round headed by Sequoia Capital India, with participation from Tenacity Ventures and Trifecta Capital as well as previous investors Matrix Partners, Beenext, and Better Capital. 

This occurs as K12 (kindergarten through standard 12) online edtech businesses in India are struggling post-pandemic due to declining demand, whilst those in the B2B (business-to-business) edtech market have had tailwinds of growth as schools have become more open to adopting innovation.

Deepanshu Arora, co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Toddle said, “A significant part of this (the fund raised) would be used in product development and furthering the growth initiative. So far, we have focused on content, design, and community initiatives. Going forward, we intend to double down on that as well as start experimenting with go-to-market efforts.” 

Arora added that the business intended to fill 70 to 80 roles over the following four to five months. In order to create a leadership team, he added, “a few senior roles are crucial for us, like a VP (vice president) of marketing, VP of sales, and Head of People.” However, the corporation withheld information regarding its valuation following the funding round. 

A group of educators, including Arora, Gautam Arora, Misbah Jafary, Nikhil Poonawala, and Parita Parekh, founded the edtech SaaS business Toddle in 2019. According to the business, independent schools offering IB (International Baccalaureate) and other progressive curricula employ a teaching and learning platform as their first product.

“We are really focused on the absolute top echelons of the school ecosystem and therefore, we feel, this is an all-weather business,” Arora said.

The business stated it will soon introduce a product for preschools and has lately expanded its product offering to include other international curriculum like Cambridge, British, and American. 

According to the company, over 40,000 educators from over 1,500 institutions presently utilise the Toddle platform. This number includes both free and paid users from over 100 different countries. Toddle is currently active in the US, UK, Australia, China, and the UAE, among other nations. 

As per Arora, the business has always had a worldwide perspective. He said, “About 40 percent of our revenues come from North and South America combined, about 30 percent comes from Europe and the Middle East, and the rest comes from the Asia Pacific. Within that India is about seven to eight percent of our revenue.”

“We have known the creators of Toddle for a number of years, and we have come to appreciate their commitment for education. They invested all of their energy into creating a product that teachers all across the world adore. According to Ashish Agrawal, managing director of Sequoia Capital India, “their school-led approach is refreshing, and we are happy to join with them in their drive to revolutionise teaching and learning.” 

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) website’s most recent information indicates that Toddle’s income for FY21 decreased from Rs 14.6 crore in the prior fiscal year to Rs 9.4 crore.

Arora added, “In 2019, we were at about 50 paid schools, in 2020, it was at about 180-190, in 2021 it was around 400 and then in 2022, we have around 800 paying customers. We are doubling our base every year.”

In addition, the business lost Rs 0.2 crore in FY21 after making Rs 1 crore in profit the year before. However, Toddle hasn’t yet made its FY22 statements available to the public. 

The business has already raised $2.95 million in capital across three rounds prior to the current round.

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