Toppr raises $2 mn inside round from Kaizen Private Equity

Mumbai-based Toppr Technologies has raised about $2 million from returning investor Kaizen Private Equity, according to a regulatory filing made on the resolution passed by the edtech startup’s board last Thursday.

The company has issued a batch of 23,779 preferred shares, at a price of about $91 a share to the Singapore-based asset management company, according to the filing made to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA).

The proceeds of the inside round of investment will be used for further expansion and growth of the company, according to the regulatory filing made on June 4 dated board meeting on the resolution to raise the funds.

The startup, according to a valuation report dated March 31 filed with the MCA, holds an enterprise valuation of $54.9 million. According to the report, the company expects a revenue of about $18.3 million in the financial year ended March 2021.

With the latest infusion included, the startup has raised about $63 million so far, according to VCCEdge data. The bridge investment comes two years after it last raised funds.

In 2018, it raised $35 million in a Series C funding round led by investors Eight Roads Ventures, Helion Venture Partners and SAIF Partners and then new investor Kaizen.

The ed-tech startup was founded in 2013 by IIT Bombay alumni Zishaan Hayath and Hemanth Goteti. Prior to setting up Toppr, Hayath founded a phone-commerce startup Chaupaati Bazaar, while Goteti was head of engineering at e-commerce platform Futurebazaar.com and held stints at Chaupaati Bazaar, Qlip Media, Synechron and Ubiquity Inc.

A test preparation platform for engineering, medical and secondary school students, Toppr uses artificial intelligence-based machine learning algorithms to personalise learning paths for every student.

Read: Zishaan Hayath on how Toppr is making quality education accessible to all

The platform covers exams such as IIT JEE and BITSAT in engineering; NEET, AIIMS, AIPMT, AFMC, MT-CET and EAMCET in medical; and NTSE, NSO, NSTSE and KVPY, among others.