Lead School raises $100 mn in Series E funding; becomes unicorn

Edtech player Lead School has raised $100 million at a valuation of $1.1 billion. The Series E funding round was led by WestBridge Capital and GSV Ventures.

The company plans to use the proceeds to achieve its vision of providing quality affordable education to 25 million+ students with an annual revenue run-rate of $1 billion. Immediate focus would be towards product and curriculum innovation, growth in its footprint and hiring top talent across functions. In the long term, the company plans to go deeper in the country to serve students in lower fee schools and expand internationally in similar geographies, it said in a press release.

Founded in 2012, co-founders Sumeet Yashpal Mehta and Smita Deorah said, “Our intense focus has been on learning outcomes and life success of our students. And this has resulted in not only strong adoption and retention by schools but also interest from investors who value returns with real impact.”

WestBridge Capital Managing Director Sandeep Singhal said, “We are excited to double down our investment in LEAD, to support in its mission of transforming the education sector in India and touching lives of millions of students.”

GSV Ventures Managing Partner Deborah Quazzo said, “With this strong and unique value proposition and exceptional management team, LEAD is well on its path to become world’s largest and most impactful School EdTech company.”

The company’s valuation has doubled in the last 9 months on the back of strong growth in its operating and financial metrics. The current round is its fifth round of institutional funding since 2017.

Published on: Thursday, January 13, 2022, 10:22 AM IST