Toppr raises $35 Mn Series C round from Kaizen, SAIF, others

The 2017-18 period is considered as one of the best phases for edtech startups in India where only a few left with no fundraising exercise. Right from Byju's to Unacademy, Toppr, UpGrad, Embibe and a slew of others in this segment, have managed to engage investors with their unique solution and performance.

While Byju's became the trailblazer for edtech startups in the country, other competitors have been following the path. The latest funding has come for the Zishaan Hayath-led personalised learning app.

Toppr has raked in $35 million Series C round from  Kaizen Private Equity and existing investors Eight Roads Ventures, Helion Ventures, and SAIF Partners.

The fresh funding round also saw the participation of venture debt firm Alteria Capital and Brand Capital, the strategic investment arm of the Times Group.

In May, Alteria led Rs 15.5 crore debt financing round in Toppr. Previously, the Mumbai-based startup had scooped up Rs 45 crore Series B round led by SAIF, Helion and FIL Capital Management.

The fresh proceeds will be infused mostly in branding where Byju's has been dominating for the past 3-4 years. Besides, Toppr aims to increase its marketshare among students in lower grades that is still underserved.

Hayath, who is also an angel investor in Ola and Housing.com, founded Toppr in 2013 along with Hemanth Goteti. It's a test preparation platform for engineering, medical and secondary schools students which covers exams such as IIT JEE and BITSAT in engineering; NEET, AIIMS, AIPMT, AFMC, MT-CET, and EAMCET among others.

With a team size of 29,000 online tutors, Toppr app has got decent traction and claims to have six million downloads and one million monthly active users. It has deployed an AI-enabled chat application for students that connects with experts instantly.

Apart from the aforementioned startups, Toppr also competes with Onlinetyari, Meritnation including several others.

The development was reported by ET.