Sequoia India Eyes $50 Million Investment In K12 Despite Market Slump
Sequoia India is in the lead-up to investing over $50 million in K12 Techno Services, a startup that provides a wide range of services to educational institutions and also runs its own network of schools, doubling the size of its previously backed company. That's more than a decade, two sources familiar with the matter told TechCrunch.
K12 Techno Services, which Tracxn said had raised more than $75 million in an earlier round, also approached TPG and Accel in recent weeks, but decided to stick with sponsor Sequoia India, according to the source.
The round has not yet closed, so investment terms could change, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity to share non-public information. It's unclear if anyone other than Sequoia invested in the round.
K12 Techno Services operates the Orchid network of international schools in over twenty cities in India. It has more than 90 schools that teach a variety of subjects, from robotics to philosophy to personal "360-degree development." According to its website, Orchid has served more than 75,000 students.
It also provides an integrated curriculum, online classroom platform and other school management software to more than 300 schools through its Let's Educate division. “Our comprehensive, customizable and personalized solution works effectively for all types of schools. They are effective both for the holistic development of students and for various school management activities designed for the school,” it explains on its website.
Sparkle Box, another K12 company, has an online store of custom-made children's activity kits.
K12 did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday, while Sequoia India declined to comment.
The deal reflects Sequoia's aggressive and diversified approach to India's education technology market, where more than 300 million students attend schools and take university entrance exams. He was an early promoter of Byju's, Unacademy and Doubtnut, which train students from kindergarten to college. He is also an investor in Eruditus, a company that offers higher education to students in dozens of markets.
Edtech startups in India and beyond have borne the brunt of the ongoing downturn in the market, which has wiped out much of their 13-year gains. The education technology industry in the South Asian market has shed almost 5,000 jobs this year.
