EDTECH UNICORN
PhysicsWallah gets tax relief as I-T dept cuts demand; contests residual ask of Rs 193 crore
Edtech firm PhysicsWallah has seen its tax demand reduced from Rs 263.3 crore to Rs 192.7 crore following a rectification application. The company has appealed the revised order, asserting strong grounds to contest the remaining demand. Despite the ongoing dispute, PhysicsWallah stated it will not materially impact its financial position or operations.
Next AI unicorns will come from India: Google AI Fund chief
As a part of its first cohort of its joint investment programme in India, the two organisations have selected five startups in March, where the companies will invest $1 million each and will offer $350,000 in compute credits along with other benefits such as access to top foundational models from Google.
Peak XV alum’s fund; Snabbit, Scapia funding; Upgrad-Unacademy deal
Happy Monday! Former Peak XV Partners executives have launched a new early-stage venture fund. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.
Once he lived in a slum, couldn’t study for IIT. Today, he’s richer than Shah Rukh Khan, with net worth over Rs 14,000 crore
Alakh Pandey, founder of Physics Wallah, shared his inspiring journey from poverty to immense wealth on The Great Indian Kapil Show. Forced to give tuitions in sixth grade after his family lost their home, Pandey's personal struggles fueled his mission to make quality education accessible. His edtech platform's success has propelled his net worth to an astounding Rs 14,510 crore.
CA shares wealth formula after Physics Wallah's Alakh Pandey vs Shah Rukh Khan's networth comparison
Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan vs Physics Wallah co-founder Alakh Pandey: A single comparison about their wealth had set the social media buzzing when it came out last year and triggered conversations around how modern wealth is being built in India. Reopening the debate, a chartered accountant shared insights on how wealth can be created in today's modern world in a short span of time.
Edtech unicorn Lead Group rejigs C-suite to chase growth
Edtech unicorn Lead Group has appointed Moiz Saif as chief financial officer and promoted Deepak Hariharan to chief business officer. Other leadership changes include Ajay Kashyap becoming CTO and Prasad Narasimha as head of HR. The moves aim to support the firm’s goal of reaching 10 million students and going public by 2030.
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Lead Group turns Ebitda positive in Q1 FY25; revenue up 25% at Rs 370 crore in FY24
Attributes growth to robust demand for tech-driven, integrated solutions aligned with the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) across school segments. The edtech startup says it is eyeing to turn Ebitda breakeven for the full fiscal 2024-25.
Fintech sector will dominate future Unicorns at USD 58 billion: Hurun report
The total worth of India's future unicorns will stand at USD 58 billion, an increase of 1.2 per cent as compared to last year. Fintech sector leads with the highest number of companies that can become Unicorns in future.
Post Byju’s, investors worried about governance at startups: GSV Ventures' Deborah Quazzo
GSV Ventures has backed Indian edtech unicorns including Eruditus, Lead, PhysicsWallah as well as startups like Classplus. Deborah Quazzo also spoke about the lack of equilibrium between edtech founders and investors on valuations, which is delaying fundraises in the sector.
Edtech startup PhysicsWallah to launch 26 Vidyapeeth offline centres
Currently, the Noida-based startup has 67 centres operational in 38 cities. The offline centres will offer a curriculum for engineering and medical entrance examinations.
US fund cuts edtech Eruditus’ valuation by 9% to $2.9 billion
The markdown has translated to a valuation of about $2.9 billion as of March 31, 2023, a drop from $3.2 billion in August 2021, a price at which the Mumbai-based startup had last raised equity-based capital from investors.
PhysicsWallah rolls out 50 offline centres; to offer scholarships worth Rs 160 crore
Vidyapeeth is a tech-integrated offline classroom comprising 650 smart classrooms. The edtech unicorn is already running 11 Vidyapeeth centers in various cities across the country.
Cash-rich edtech firms out to poach rivals in funding winter
Edtech startups that are sitting on cash piles such as PhysicsWallah, UpGrad, Lead are on the lookout for suitable deals that would enhance their offerings and help them expand their reach.
Edtech unicorn Lead raises Rs 160 crore in debt amid funding slowdown
The edtech unicorn plans to use the fresh capital to finance organic and inorganic growth ambitions.
Edtech unicorn Lead to acquire Pearson’s India K-12 business
Lead's cofounder and chief executive Sumeet Mehta said the acquisition will help the company expand its network to 9,000 schools from around 3,500 currently.
With $10.8 billion, Bengaluru top city on startup funding in 2022
Startups based in Delhi and Chennai registered $1.2 billion each in funding, followed by Pune at $1 billion, according to data provided by Tracxn, a leading global market intelligence platform.
Unacademy acquires Gate Academy, launches 50 YouTube education channels
Umesh Dhande, the founder and a director at GATE Academy, will join Unacademy as its vice president, academics, GATE and ESE, the company said.
Vedantu lays off another 100 employees after sacking 624 in May
Interestingly, cofounder and chief executive Vamsi Krishna had said in a memo to employees on May 18 that the previous retrenchment exercise was a ‘one-time activity’, with no more layoffs expected. The memo was also published on the company’s blog.
View: The world is looking at India to show the way in EdTech
What is common among these edtech unicorns? The founder of PhysicsWallah (PW), Alakh Pandey, comes from a modest background in Allahabad, started teaching science in Class 8, soon started a YouTube channel in 2016 which became a hit, with the PW app registering 5.2 million downloads while its YouTube channel 6.5 million subscribers.
Online learning platform Physics Wallah enters unicorn club with $100 million funding
WestBridge Capital and GSV Ventures lead the funding round valuing the edtech startup at $1.1 billion
Byju’s in talks to acquire listed US edtech firm Chegg valued at $2 billion
In an interview with ETtech Byju Raveendran did not confirm discussions to buy Chegg but said the company was accessing all kinds of capital to close big-ticket deals
Just getting started
Growth- and late-stage deals comprise around 85% of the total funding. Deals in all stages of funding showed growth in CY21 but growth- and late-stage deals stand out with about 50% growth in deal count and more than 2x growth in average deal ticket size.
Edtech unicorn Vedantu slashes course costs as offline learning returns
Vedantu's latest offering, Ai Live classes, offers an interactive platform backed by technology at Rs 5,000 annually. It leverages artificial intelligence, voice synthesis and content development to bring down the cost.
Edtech firm Lead announces $3 million Esop liquidation programme for its staff
The Mumbai-based firm has distributed Esops to 20% of its employees. It has in the past awarded performance Esops to reward employees for performance.
School edtech unicorn Lead elevates Ritwik Khare as COO
Khare, a gold medalist MBA from FMS, Delhi has over 20 years of experience in leadership positions driving business across industries.
Online mentoring platform MyCaptain raises $3 million in funding
The company plans to use the proceeds from the current raise to scale its course offerings, acquire more users as well as grow its team with a focus on expansion.
Lead School becomes third unicorn of 2022 after $100 million funding
The financing round makes Lead School the third startup to enter India’s unicorn club in 2022, after Mamaearth and Fractal AI. It is also the sixth Indian edtech company to reach unicorn status.
Lead School becomes third unicorn of 2022 after $100 million funding
The financing round makes Lead School the third startup to enter India’s unicorn club in 2022, after Mamaearth and Fractal AI. It is also the sixth Indian edtech company to reach unicorn status.
upGrad enters unicorn club after funding from Temasek, IFC, IIFL
Edtech startup upGrad, which competes with Byju’s and Unacademy, has closed a $185-million funding round at a valuation of $1.2 billion, thus entering the coveted unicorn club.
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