Classplus raises $70 million led by Alpha Wave Global, Tiger Global

(L-R) Classplus founders Bhaswat Agarwal and Mukul Rustagi

Business-to-business edtech startup Classplus has bagged $70 million in a Series D funding round co-led by Alpha Wave Global and Tiger Global with participation from Abu Dhabi-based Chimera Ventures and existing investor RTP Global, the company said on March 29.

The round valued the Noida-based startup at close to $600 million, more than double of its previous valuation when it raised $65 million Series C funding in June 2021.

"Going forward, we’ll also be investing in new acquisitions and partnerships that will enable us to continue delivering best-in-class experience to the educators and helping them create an impact in the education system by building bigger and stronger businesses" co-founder Mukul Rastogi said.

Classplus, which has raised a total of $160 million to date, also counts Blume Ventures, Sequoia Capital India’s Surge, Spiral Ventures, Strive and Times Internet as investors.

The startup would use the capital raised to improve product and expand its presence across the world, Rastogi said. The company recently announced expansion in Southeast Asian markets, including Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia.

Founded in 2018 by Rastogi and Bhaswat Agarwal, Classplus is a mobile-first software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform that allows educators and content creators to build their online presence, digitise their offline tuition centres and sell courses online.

Classplus said its platform was being used by more than 100,000 educators and content creators from more than 3,000 towns and cities in India, with more than 75 percent of its educator base coming from Tier 2 cities and beyond.

A majority of its educators had seen a two to three times increase in profitability within six months of adopting the platform, the company claimed in a statement.

"We like that the company can successfully cater to the large offline market of educators across segments such as K-12, test prep etc. We also see a significant improvement in end tutor economics as a result of using Classplus–this results in sector-leading monetisation and retention trends", said Navroz D Udwadia, Co-Founder, Alpha Wave Global.

The startup claims that it has seen massive adoption from educators from K-12 and exam prep categories as well as non-academic content creators in fitness and lifestyle, personal finance, language training and programming among others.