Sid Yog family office-backed firm leads Series A round in ed-tech startup Eupheus

By Narinder Kapur

  • 23 Jan 2020
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Education technology firm Eupheus Learning has raised $4.3 million (approximately Rs 30.64 crore at current exchange rates) in its Series A funding led by Yuj Ventures, the early-stage investment platform backed by the family office of Xander Group Inc. founder Sid Yog.

The round also saw participation from existing investor Sixth Sense Ventures, Eupheus Learning said in a statement.

The company will use the funds to set up operations in the Middle East and also expand to other international markets, it added.

Sarvesh Shrivastava, co-founder and managing director at Eupheus, said the company’s services were being able to bridge the gap between in-school and at-home learning. “With this infusion of capital, we have the opportunity to expand our presence across India and into neighbouring nations,” he said.

Separately, Madhav Soi of Yuj Ventures said the firm was confident in its investment because of the experience of the startup’s management and the way that they had managed to scale Eupheus in a profitable way.

New Delhi-based Eupheus, operated by Proficiency Learning Solutions Pvt. Ltd, was co-founded by Shrivastava, Ved Prakash Khatri and Amit Kapoor in 2017. It provides technology-led learning solutions in kindergarten to high-school space. Some of its curated offerings include kinaesthetic learning, reading enhancement, STEM and STEAM learning and English language learning.

The company says it recorded a three-fold increase in revenues in the 2019-20 financial year, and that it is present in over 70 cities in the country. The firm also claims to have partnered with at least 17 global education players.

In March 2018, VCCircle exclusively reported that Eupheus was the first investment target for Sixth Sense Ventures’ second domestic fund. At the time, the VC picked up a significant minority stake in the company. Sixth Sense made an additional investment in the ed-tech startup in October that year.

Deals in the ed-tech segment

The larger ed-tech segment in India has been the subject of heavy investor attention in the country in the last few years, with companies such as Byju’s and Unacademy scoring big cheques from marquee names.

However, there have been several early and mid-stage startups that have raised funding in recent months.

Earlier this month, growth-stage investor Iron Pillar led a Rs 60 crore (around $8.3 million) Series B round in Testbook, which operates a platform focussed on government examination preparations. Also this month, a private investment company led by James Murdoch acquired a majority stake in online learning startup Harappa Education Pvt. Ltd.

In December last year, career upskilling solutions provider Springboard raised $11 million (around Rs 78 crore) in a post-Series A financing round led by the education-focused Reach Capital. Other investors included Pearson Ventures and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation.

In October, Info Edge (India) Ltd, which owns and operates portals such as job site Naukri.com, said it invested Rs 7.06 crore (a little less than $1 million) in Adda247, a test-preparation platform for government and public-sector exams.