India’s Vedantu scores $24M more for its online tutoring service

Vedantu, a Bangalore-based startup that operates a learning app aimed at students aged between 12 to 18, has secured an additional $24 million as part of its Series C financing round as it looks to serve more students and make its brand a household name.

The additional fund to Series C, which Vedantu unveiled in August last year, was led by Chinese giant GGV Capital. Some existing investors also participated in the round. The $24 million extension makes the five-year-old startup’s Series C round to be of $66 million in size, and its total raise to date to $82 million.

Vedantu offers a mix of recorded and live and interactive courses. Students who have enrolled for the interactive sessions are required to answer questions every few minutes by tapping on their smartphone screen or on the desktop. They also can raise their doubts at the end of the session.

The startup, which serves students in grade 6 to 12, offers a large catalog of recorded sessions at no charge to users. It generates revenue from selling subscriptions to live and interactive sessions, Vamsi Krishna, co-founder and CEO of the startup, told TechCrunch in an interview.

The app has amassed over 75,000 paying subscribers, a figure that Krishna expects to cross 100,000 this year, he said. The cost of these subscriptions can vary from Rs 100 ($1.4) for students looking for sessions around a particular topic, to Rs 50,000 ($700) for long-term courses that focus on training students for undergraduate-level courses. More than 25 million users, in general, come to Vedantu app or website to consume free lessons.

More to follow…