Edtech startup Scaler bags USD 55 Mn in Lightrock led-Series B funding

Scaler Academy, an Indian educational platform that upskills working professionals, has reportedly raised USD 55 million in a Series B funding round which was led by Lightrock India and others. The Bengaluru-based startup is now valued at USD 710 million, up from USD 110 million reported a couple of years ago.

Existing investors such as Tiger Global and Sequoia Capital India had also participated in Scalar’s fundraising, moving the company’s all-time funding to USD 76.5 million. The startup will use the fresh funds to acquire new startups and expand to international markets, especially in the U.S.

It is worth mentioning that the recent funding came just months after Scaler received a USD 400 million buyout offer from another Indian education technology giant Unacademy. For those unaware, Scaler began its journey as InterviewBit which is essentially a platform that offers insights to students to crack interviews.

While InterviewBit, one of the leading interview prep apps, is still operational, Scaler’s objective is to address the broader challenge. The courses found on the platform are designed specifically for working professionals and run for about nine to eleven months.

Failing legacy institutions in the higher education sector, especially in the IT space, in India has opened up several opportunities for platforms like Scaler to offer a new kind of service that looks beyond cost-based success, the co-founder Abhimanyu Saxena claimed. The company intends to help India shift the tradition that provides the globe with engineers to become a center of highly-skilled and competitive talent.

Scaler offers courses including machine learning and data science, which are designed for major tech employers like VMware, Adobe, PayPal, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon. Courses typically cost around USD 3350, with an option to either by paying the fee upfront or by take an installment loan from one of the non-bank financial institutions.

Source credits –

https://techcrunch.com/2022/01/31/scaler-upskilling-working-professionals-funding/