Classplus

Classplus is an Indian developer of technology solutions for interaction between teachers and students, founded in 2018. The platform, designed for institutions, training centers and private teachers, allows you to organize distance learning, communication between teachers and students, evaluate work and monitor attendance. In Classplus, you can create online courses and tests, shoot video lessons, communicate in parental chats and monitor the performance of the child. Also, Classplus provides tuition fees.

History

2022: Raising $70 million of investments, including from Leonid Boguslavsky Foundation

In April 2022, Edtech startup Classplus announced the receipt of funding in the amount of $70 million. The investment deal was attended by Tiger Global Management and Alpha Wave Global, as well as Chimera Ventures and the RTP Foundation of Leonid Boguslavsky.

The startup plans to use the funds received to strengthen its product and expand its global presence in Southeast Asian markets, including Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia.

Leonid Boguslavsky Foundation invested in Indian platform for private schools

We will direct fresh funds to improve our product and expand our presence around the world, said Mukul Rustagi, co-founder and chief executive officer of Classplus.

In the future, we will also invest in new acquisitions and partnerships that will allow us to continue to provide the best experience in our segment to teachers and help them influence the education system, creating larger and stronger structures, Rustagi added.

The platform also claims that more than 100 thousand teachers and content creators from more than 3,000 cities in India have switched to its platform. Classplus added that many educators are seeing a 2-3-fold increase in revenue within six months of moving to its platform.

We like that the company can successfully serve a large offline teacher market in segments such as K-12, preparation for exams, etc. - said Navroz D Udwadia, co-founder of Alpha Wave.

We also see a significant improvement in the economy of the final tutor as a result of the use of Classplus - this leads to leading trends in monetization and retention in the sector - added Udwadia.

In 2021, Classplus appointed Zomato Vice President of Engineering Manish Chawla as Director of Technology to focus on global expansion, and in January the company hired Sankalp Aggarwal, formerly head of finance at Gaana, as chief financial officer.^[1]

2021: Raising $65 million, including from RTP Global

At the end of June 2021, the Indian developer of solutions for private schools Classplus raised $65 million. The investment round of series C headed Tiger Global fund, also GSV Ventures, Alpha Wave Incubation (AWI) which is supported by DisruptAD took part in it and Falcon Edge, Blume Ventures and Leonid's fund BoguslavskogoRTP Global copes.

The new round of funding is evidence of Classplus' undisputed market leadership and strong growth. This is the fourth round of funding organized by the company in the last 15 months. The first to support Classplus include: startup Surge, founded by Sequoia Capital, and Times Internet.

Leonid Boguslavsky Foundation invested in the developer of IT solutions for interaction between teachers and students of Classplus

Our mission is to make sure that every teacher can go online and communicate with his students around the world. The capabilities of teachers have historically been limited to their location. With the help of Classplus, teachers can create and expand their online presence and monetize their content without any serious investments and efforts, "said Classplus founder Mukul Rustagi.

Educators use Classplus to simplify communication with students, launch group online courses and manage student communities through the platform. The solution also helps educators conduct real-time lessons, automate their daily tasks, launch student interaction programs, and create and promote their online courses. All this allows teachers to spend more time creating high-quality content and build a sustainable business for themselves.

When the lockdown began in India, Classplus turned into critical software for the offline learning industry with a turnover of $30 billion. Since the platform has grown almost 10 times over the past 12 months, GSV considers it as a "weapon of mass training," said Deborah Quaso, managing partner of GSV Ventures.[2]

2020: Attracting $9 million of investments, including from the RTP Global Fund

In early May 2020, it became known that Classplus raised about $9 million. The venture fund of billionaire Leonid Boguslav RTP Global, which was the main investor in this round of financing, also invested in it. Blume Ventures, Sequoia's Survey Ventures, Strive Ventures also took part in the deal.

Classplus itself announced the investment on May 4, 2020. RTP Global partner  Galina Chifina, in a conversation with Forbes, confirmed the information and clarified that the fund invested about $4 million in the startup in exchange for about a 10 percent stake in the capital of an Indian company.

Leonid Boguslavsky Foundation invested in the developer of IT solutions for interaction between teachers and students

According to Chifina, the American venture fund Sequoia, with which RTP Global has long-standing friendships, advised investing in Classplus in 2019. Before the second round, RTP held due diligence, and Classplus agreed to the terms of investment, she said.

As of the beginning of May 2020, about 3 thousand institutes and teachers in 50 cities are connected to the Classplus platform. The service is especially popular in India, where it has 500 thousand clients among students. The company hopes that by the end of 2020 about 10 thousand tutoring centers will use its platform.^[3]

Notes