Edtech unicorn LEAD secures INR 160 cr in debt funding
- ByStartupStory | January 12, 2023
Educational technology startup LEAD has raised 160 crore in funding from Alteria Capital and Stride Ventures, as well as working capital financing from Standard Chartered Bank, HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank.
LEAD has raised $100 million at a valuation of $1.1 billion by January 2022. According to the company, this current fundraising round demonstrates LEAD’s ability to attract traditional financing by emphasising predictable cash flows and positive unit economics.
The current round of investment would assist finance the company’s organic and inorganic expansion aspirations, it stated, with the route to profitability for LEAD’s base business of Affordable Private Schools already established through existing resources.
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According to reports, LEAD just fired off 60 staff from its development and product teams. However, the company has not yet confirmed the layoffs.
“Traditionally, start-ups have had limited avenues for raising capital beyond equity. However, with our strong unit economics and a clear path to profitability, we have been able to attract non-dilutive, traditional capital from India’s biggest banks and largest venture debt funds, which is value accretive to our shareholders,” said Sumeet Mehta, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of LEAD.
The latest round of funding will expedite LEAD’s objective to deliver high-quality, integrated school edtech solutions to over 60,000 schools across India by 2026. According to him, LEAD is primed for a 2X growth.
Agreement with Pearson
LEAD and Pearson, a learning organisation, reached an agreement last week for LEAD to purchase Pearson’s local K–12 learning business in India. With this acquisition, LEAD claims it will instantly increase its reach to more than 9,000 schools and substantially improve its product lineup to serve the full range of India’s more than 5 lakh private schools.
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