Ed-tech start-up Unacademy raises $150 million, joins elite unicorn club
What's the story
Bengaluru-based ed-tech start-up Unacademy has joined the elite unicorn club of India. The company on Wednesday announced it has raised $150 million in a Series-F round of funding, which has taken its valuation to $1.45 billion, the highest in the booming 'online learning' category after BYJU's. Here is all you need to know about it.
Funding
Funding led by SoftBank's Vision Fund 2
As announced by Gaurav Munjal, the co-founder and CEO at Unacademy, Japanese conglomerate SoftBank's Vision Fund 2 led the latest round of financing. The existing investors of the company, Facebook, Blume Ventures, Nexus Venture Partners, General Atlantic, and Sequoia Capital, also participated in the round. Notably, Facebook had become Unacademy's backer by participating in a larger $110 million round in February.
Mission
Unacademy's mission to connect students with top educators online
Founded in 2015 by Munjal, Roman Saini, and Hemesh Singh, Unacademy has been offering a platform to connect with top educators in the country through live classes and recorded sessions. The platform covers a range of competitive and college entrance exams, from SSC and Bank to CAT and GATE, and provides detailed preparation material, complete with quizzes and live tests.
Growth
Significant growth in recent months
Thanks to COVID-19 tailwinds, Unacademy has witnessed a major surge in its students' base. A few months ago, Unacademy's one-year-old subscription product providing access to all live classes reached $30 million in annualized recurring revenue. More recently, they have also held interviews of high-profile personalities like Dr. Shashi Tharoor on a range of topics, drawing more interest from the learners.
Comment
"Our goal always has been to democratize knowledge"
While announcing the fund-raise, Munjal said, "Our goal always has been to democratize knowledge and make it more affordable and accessible by getting the best experts of the world help everyone achieve their goals. We are just getting started." To note, with this round, the total funds raised by Unacademy since its inception has reached the $350 million mark.
Twitter Post
Here is Munjal's announcement
Unacademy Group has raised $150M in a round led by Softbank valuing us at $1.45B post the funding. Great to have them onboard as a partner in our journey.
— Gaurav Munjal (@gauravmunjal) September 2, 2020
Our existing investors General Atlantic, Sequoia India, Nexus, Facebook and Blume also participated in the round.