Sequoia-backed Scaler Academy scoops up $55 mn at valuation of $710 mn

By Nikhil Patwardhan

  • 02 Feb 2022
Credit: 123RF.com

Sequoia Capital India-backed edtech platform Scaler Academy, run by Interviewbit Technologies Pvt Ltd, has raised $55 million as a part of its Series B funding led by Lightrock India, the company’s Founder Abhimanyu Saxena has said in a Tweet.   

The round also saw participation from the existing investors Tiger Global Management and Sequoia Capital India, Saxena said.   

 With the latest funding round, the platform has raised a little over $76 million till date, according to VCCEdge, VCCircle’s research and data platform.   

The company plans to use the fresh capital to expand globally as well as roll out new product offerings and business verticals.  

Scaler Academy will also make strategic acquisitions and grow its customer base in India and globally.  

Scaler Academy, in August last year, had acquired Delhi-based Coding Elements in an all-cash deal worth $1 million and the company had said that it had set aside $8 million to explore M&A deals.

Edtech companies in India, especially the larger ones, have been taking the inorganic route to expand aggressively.  

VCCircle had reported in December that edtech unicorns, excluding LEAD, had acquired 21 companies in 2021 alone, and had spent over $3 billion for such transactions.

In an interaction with VCCircle, Eruditus Education Pvt Ltd’s Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, had said that the SoftBank-backed company was earmarking $1 billion for mergers and acquisitions (M&As) over the next 12 months.

Recently, Lightspeed Venture Partners-backed edtech platform Teachmint, had acquired MyClassCampus, an educational enterprise resource planning software that enables campuses with end-to-end digitisation of their operations, management and communication. MyClassCampus was Teachmint’s fourth acquisition in two months.  

Launched in 2019, the platform offers upskilling courses to college students and tech talents. It also claimed that seven out of every ten unicorns in India, currently, have a Scaler Academy alumnus. The company has also joined hands with Microsoft, Google and Amazon for placements.

“The cumulative annual salary of 3,500 Scaler Academy graduates is more than Rs 700 crore a year as of today,” Saxena added.