Last week in startup funding: Edtech, early-stage startups continue seeing traction

Chargebee helps businesses—mainly in the US and Europe—manage subscriptions, including billing, invoicing, taxes and payment methods.

Edtech startup Doubtnut raised $31 million after declining an acquisition from Byju’s- the country’s largest edtech firm- the largest deal in the week ended March 5, 2021.

Doubt solving app Doubtnut raised the Series B round led by James Murdoch-led Lupa Systems and Susquehanna International Group (SIG), along with existing investor Sequoia Capital, while another Sequoia-backed firm, Apna raised $12.5 million in a Series B round. Apna, a networking platform for blue and grey collar workers raises the money from Lightspeed, Sequoia and Rocketship.vc.

Doubtnut was in talks to be acquired by Byju’s last year, but the deal fell through over valuation concerns. Its other investors include Chinese internet giant Tencent and Sequoia’s accelerator program Surge.

A flurry of startups also raised seed funding rounds last week. All-Star Games raised $1.5 million from gaming focused venture firm Lumikai, and IMAGINxP, which provides courses in UX design and design thinking, raised money from Venture Catalysts and Samyakth Capital.

Playcent, an interactive content platform raised $1 million from GBV Global and Lotus Capital.

Sectors such as gaming and content have seen rising investor interest in light of the pandemic. The number of internet users, as well the time each individual user spends, have both gone up as more people have spent time at home and transacted online.