Edtech startup Cuemath raises $2.7 mn from Trifecta Capital

Bengaluru headquartered CueLearn, which runs edtech platform Cuemath, has raised $2.7 million (Rs 20 crore at current exchange rates) in a mix of equity and debt issue from Trifecta Capital’s venture debt fund.  

The company has issued 8,404 Series B4 preference shares to Trifecta Venture Debt Fund-II at Rs 8,229.35 per share and 130 non-convertible debentures at Rs 1,00,000 per debenture to Trifecta Venture Debt Fund-II and Fund-I, regulatory filings showed. It also issued 2,107 Series B3 preference shares to the two funds, which were partly paid at a nominal value of Rs 1 per share.

The company last raised capital in a $5.5 million Series B funding round in December last year. The round was led by venture capital fund Manta Ray Ventures and returning investors CapitalG, the venture arm of Google’s parent Alphabet and venture capital firm Sequoia Capital India.  

Prior to that, CapitalG and Sequoia Capital infused $15 million in a Series B funding round in the company in 2017. Cuemath also raised $4 million in a Series A funding round from Sequoia Capital and Unitus Seed Fund, taking the total capital raised so far to $28 million, as per VCCEdge data.

Founded in 2013 by Jagjit Kurma and Manan Khurma, Cuemath offers mathematics classes on a franchisee model, and deploys physical and gadget-based content to teach the subject to students between the lower kindergarten and matriculation levels. The curriculum is based on learning standards from Indian and foreign education boards. At the last count, the platform said it had 40,000 students on the platform from over 5,000 centres across 80 cities.

Cuemath’s fundraise comes amid a string of aggressive funding deals in the edtech space. As the Covid-19 pandemic has forced education systems to move online, investors seem to be boosting their portfolios by backing e-learning providers.

Late last month, edtech leader Byju’s raised an undisclosed amount from Bond, the growth equity investment firm founded by former Kleiner Perkins partner Mary Meeker, taking parent Think and Learn’s valuation to $10 billion. 

In April, Embibe raised $65.92 million from promoter Reliance Industries. Around the same time, Vedantu bagged $13 million in a Series C funding round led by venture capital firm Legend Capital and another $6.8 million from KB Global Platform Fund, an arm of South Korean banking group KB Financial Group.

Investor Trifecta Capital, the venture debt firm led by managing partners Rahul Khanna and Nilesh Kothari, has so far backed 45 startups, including grocery delivery firm BigBasket, car marketplace CarDekho, apparel platform Zivame and handyman services provider Urban Company. 

The investor is now focused on the logistics sector, placing its latest bet on intra-city logistics services provider Blowhorn in May. It has also invested in Rivigo and BlackBuck in the past. 

In June, it participated in beauty product platform MyGlamm’s $4.35 million Series B funding round with French cosmetic major L'Occitane International, venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners and alternative asset management firm Tano Capital.