An exciting edtech startup announced a funding of USD 23 million
Let us talk about the edtech industry and the startups working on it. What is an edtech industry? Education plus technology equals to edtech industry. The term edtech can be understood in simple terms, it is the use of technology in the field of education. It is the combined use of hardware, software, educational theory and practice to promote learning. The edtech industry is based on the knowledge received theoretically from the different domains like communication, education, sociology, computer science, artificial intelligence, and psychology.
Nowadays, classrooms have moved from the old and chunky computers to modern and sophisticated tablets, which enable the classes to be more interactive and interesting. With these modern advancements, come several benefits, like the students, have the access to 24* 7 learning, the lessons are attention-grabbing, they keep the students intrigued, which increases the collaboration among the students. Even this experience of education through technology can be personalized, as teachers can create plans of study, catering to the needs of every student.
Now, coming to the Indian edtech industry, the market value of the edtech industry in the country was USD 1048.3 billion in the year, 2021 and is expected to reach USD 4 billion by the end of the year, 2025, thus growing at a CAGR of 39.77%. Out of the targeted market value of USD 4 billion by the year, 2025, USD 1.5 billion will be having its attention on K-12 segments. For investors today, edtech startups have become a target and they are constantly looking out for promising edtech startups.
Even the largest edtech startup in the country, Byju’s, Unacademy, upGrad, and Vedantu, have come out together and grouped themselves to send a letter to the Ministry of Education. The letter says that they will adopt a self-regulatory code and will follow a “common code of conduct”. With the lockdown imposed because of COVID 19, there was and is a huge demand for the edtech industries in the market because normal schooling and education has been disrupted.
The startup with the highest value in the edtech industry is Byju’s, with the value of the startup being USD 21 billion. This startup in today’s time is not just the country’s most valuable, but the world’s most valuable edtech startup.
Let us now discuss the funding of the edtech startup that has taken place recently and has contributed in bringing the edtech industry to a higher position.
Announcement of funding the edtech startup
The edtech startup, Filo has raised funds worth USD 23 million, as announced on March 3rd, 2022. This round of funding was led by Anthos Capital. The other participants who took part in this round of funding were the existing investors of the startup, which were Better Capital, GSV, and Sapling Capital. Many individual investors also took part in this round of funding. Their list includes Gokul Rajaram, Co-founder of Kabbage, Rob Frohwein, founders of Loft, Mate Pencz, and Florian Hagenbunch, and co-founder of Dutchie, Ross Lipson.
The startup plans to divert the funds raised in different sectors like product development and expansion of the team. The startup also has made plans to distribute a portion of the funds raised, in entering into new categories and expanding and scaling up its base of tutors across the country. The startup before this round of funding had raised USD 2 million in another round of funding that took place in September 2021. It was the seed round of funding and was led by Better Capital.
More about the edtech startup that has announced its funding
The startup, Filo, was founded in the year 2020 by Imbesat Ahmad, Shadman Anwer, and Rohit Kumar. The objective of the startup is to empower students in taking complete control of their learning with the power of technology. The startup understands that every student has a different pace of learning, where some learn fast, while others take their time. Every student has a different aim, some want good grades, while others have the aim to learn.
This is the reason for the creation of the startup. It is inspired by the different styles of learning of individual students. The core values of the startup are as follows-
Trust- It ensures that the tutor is always just 60 seconds away;
Innovation- It is using the combination of tech and real-world learning;
Freedom- It empowers students to learn in the way they want to;
Transparency- There are no hidden charges or conditions;
Passion- It is committed to making the experience of learning, for the students, better in every way.
Coming to the journey of the startup, it is as follows-
November 2020- The startup was born.
December 2020- The startup recorded the first 10000 minutes of sessions with zero marketing budgets, thus, achieving its first masterstroke.
March 2021- The startup crossed 1 million minutes of sessions style, thus getting bigger, better, and stronger.
August 2021- The startup set a record of 7 million minutes of sessions in 7 months after launching itself. This achievement had not been gained by any other edtech company.
The startup has more than 40000 tutors who have taught more than 1000000 students and have answered more than 15000000 questions. The work culture of the startup is always on mission mode, teamwork, open doors, and a fun workspace. The startup plans to onboard more than 200000 tutors across the country and conduct around 2 million live classes every day, by the following year. Currently, it has more than 1.5 million downloads and has more than 350000 active users in a month.
About the founders of the edtech startup
The edtech startup, Filo was founded by Imbesat Ahmad, Rohit Kumar, and Shadman Anwer.
An IIT Kharagpur graduate, Imbesat Ahmad, is the CEO of the startup. He is a passionate man who invests his soul into everything he does. He motivates his team each day, to achieve the common dream of the startup. He loves traveling and exploring new places.
An IIT Kharagpur graduate, Rohit Kumar is the COO of the startup. He is a data-driven strategist and has a soul of a techie. He is devoted to improving the value machine of the startup. He loves paragliding and in his free time, can be found engaged in this activity.
An IIT Delhi graduate, Shadman Anwer is the CTO of the startup. He is a tech enthusiast and considers tech as a playground. He is a hardcore foodie, and when free, is found busy in 3D printing.
About Anthos Capital
Founded in the year 2007, Anthos Capital, is a venture capitalist firm that looks for industries like consumer products, consumer services, financial services, and information technology to invest in. The offices of Anthos Capital are in Seattle, Santa Monica, and Menlo Park.
About Better Capital
Better Capital is an early-stage venture firm that is engaged in building and investing in category-defining businesses. It has invested in more than 150 companies, and some of the companies in its portfolio are Slice, Teachmint, Jupiter, Open, Yulu, ShopKirana, Airmeet, OTO, Probo, and others.
The edtech startup is bringing a change, a new development. We wish the startup a stroke of good luck and a bright and successful future ahead!
