Chan Zuckerberg Initiative joins edtech firm Eruditus’ $113 mn Series D round

Eruditus Learning Solutions, which offers executive education programmes, has raised $113 million in a Series D round co-led by growth equity firm Leeds Illuminate and consumer internet company and technology investor, Prosus Ventures. 

The round also includes secondary share sale by Eruditus, according to a statement. 

The round saw participation from Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, founded by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Dr Priscilla Chan. Returning investor Sequoia India and Ved Capital also chipped in. 

The company will utilise the funds to increase its engagement with new and existing partner universities and deepen its operations in emerging markets.

The Singapore-headquartered company had last raised $40 million in a Series C round in 2019 led by Sequoia Capital and existing investor Bertelsmann Corporate Services India.

Founded in 2010 by Harvard Business School graduate Ashwin Damera and INSEAD alumnus Chaitanya Kalipatnapu, Eruditus partners with top global universities to offer courses in business and professional education across multiple languages including Spanish, Portuguese and Mandarin. Currently, it has partnered with 30 universities.

“Covid-19 is dramatically accelerating change across higher education. We are engaging more deeply with universities worldwide to help them expand their online portfolio and global footprint,” Ashwin Damera, CEO of Eruditus Group said in the statement. 

“Education technology is a major focus for Prosus Ventures and we now have six edtech portfolio companies spanning education across K-12, vocational upskilling, lifelong learning, and now higher education with the inclusion of Eruditus,” Ashutosh Sharma, Head of Investments for India, Prosus Ventures said. 

Prosus is also an investor in edtech firm Byju’s which recently raised $122 million from DST Global as part of a new round.

The Eruditus Group includes Eruditus Executive Education and online division, EMERITUS. The company currently has offices across six countries and employs over 650 people. 

“Innovative and interactive courses focused on skills of the future, delivered by sought-after global brands, create upward economic mobility for learners across the world. Eruditus provides the connective tissue to facilitate talent’s rise and global universities’ reach,” Susan Cates, managing partner at Leeds Illuminate said in the statement. 

Education technology companies have seen investor interest grow in the last few months as educational institutions including schools and colleges have been closed owing to national lockdown and university courses have moved online. 

Apart from Byju’s which has seen DST Global and Mary Meeker’s Bond come on-board as investors over the last two months, test prep platform Unacademy is also said to be in talks to raise a new round. It had last raised $110 million from General Atlantic in a growth round in February. Online tutoring platform for K-12, Vedantu also raised $100 million from Coatue Management in July.