CollegeDekho raises Rs 260 crore funding from QIC, Disrupt ADQ, others

CollegeDekho, an online college admissions and higher education services platform, on Wednesday said it has raised USD 35 million (about Rs 260 crore) and will use the funds to further improve its offerings for students and colleges both within the country and abroad.

The company raised the fund from Winter Capital, QIC, ETS Strategic Capital - the private equity investments arm of ETS (creator of the TOEFL tests and GRE General Test) and others.

The series B round also saw participation from Disrupt ADQ, Calega and Man Capital, a statement said.

CollegeDekho had made an interim announcement on the initial amount secured in September 2021. With the fresh funding raised from new investors Disrupt ADQ and QIC, the startup has closed its series B with USD 35 million, it added.

The company has raised USD 45 million in funding till date.

CollegeDekho is planning to use the latest funds to further improve its offerings for students and colleges both within India and Abroad, the statement said.

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The company will increase its investment in products and technology while growing new verticals like Ed-Fin-Tech, student accommodation and coaching for higher education, it added.

The company said it is also considering expanding its study abroad services in global markets. It will also use the funds raised for acquisitions and consolidation that make strategic sense.

Founded in 2015, CollegeDekho connects prospective students with colleges using its proprietary technology and AI-based conversation bot. Its Common Application Form platform enables students to apply to multiple colleges with a single click.

For students studying abroad, CollegeDekho offers a full range of services from profile building, test preparation, to application assistance, university selection and visa assistance.

The company plans to build services to help students with higher education coaching as well as student accommodation services.

"We believe that our sound business model, innovative products, our commitment to excellence in service delivery, and growing student base continue to help us win the trust of investors who have global exposure and experience in higher ed-tech," Ruchir Arora, founder and CEO of CollegeDekho, said.

Arora added that following the completion of the series B funding, the company will be expanding its team, and platforms to serve a larger number of students and colleges.

"We will also increase our investment in products and technologies, while fueling our growth in our new verticals such as education loans, student accommodation and coaching for higher ed. Even as we double down on our efforts to increase our reach in the Indian market, we will also consider expanding our presence abroad,” Arora said.

Anton Farlenkov, Managing Director at Winter Capital Advisors, said it sees its investment in CollegeDekho as promising and well aligned with its strategy to expand its investment portfolio via dynamic, high-quality assets.

"We are convinced that partners as solid as these joining the pool of investors further strengthens the prospects of success for CollegeDekho and proves the value of investment in edtech, which is poised to reach USD 10 billion in size in the next 5-10 years, from about USD 2.5 billion today," Farlenkov added.