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Exclusive: Leap Finance in talks to raise $100 Mn; seeks over $1 Bn valuation

EntrackrEntrackr · 11m ago
Exclusive: Leap Finance in talks to raise $100 Mn; seeks over $1 Bn valuation
Medial

Leap Finance, a fintech platform for Indian students pursuing higher education overseas, is in talks to raise around $70–100 million in a new round, according to two sources aware of the development. The company is seeking fresh investment after more than two years of its Series D round. “Leap has been doing well for the past two years which attracted interest from several investors including internals,” said one of the sources requesting anonymity as talks are private. “The firm is in talks with at least three new investors to raise up to $100 million in Series E round.” Leap is likely to become a unicorn with this round, said sources. San Francisco-incorporated Leap last raised $75 million in its Series D round led by Owl Ventures with participation from Steadview, Paramark Ventures, Jungle Ventures and Peak XV in June 2022 in a valuation range of $850-900 million. Its exact valuation, shareholding and revenue couldn’t be ascertained as the firm parent entity isn’t registered in India. “The terms of the deal are currently being negotiated with two of the three new investors and Leap would finalise lead for the new round in a few weeks,” said another source who also wished not to be named. “It’s seeking $1 to 1.2 billion valuation in the Series E.” Sources assert that Leap has grown multi-fold since its Series D round. The firm enables educational loans for students keen on pursuing education in overseas universities. It offers test prep apps for IELTS, TOEFL, SAT; admissions and visa counseling as well as financial offerings through LeapScholar, LeapFinance, and Yocke. It also assists with international bank accounts, credit cards, and money remittance. “The new round will be a mix of primary and secondary capital, and some early investors including angels may take partial or full exit from the company,” said the source quoted above. Leap has declined to offer comment on the story. Queries sent to Owl Ventures, Jungle Ventures, Steadview and Peak XV did not elicit any response until publication of the story. The five-year-old firm has raised $175 million until Series D round and claims to have funded more than 3,000 students since 2021. It largely focuses on institutes in the US, Canada, UK and Australia. While edtech startups have been struggling to raise funds for the past couple of years, overseas education-focused finance platforms have cornered decent funding during the period. As per data compiled by TheKredible, Leap and its competitors such as Auxilo, Avanse Financial, Financepeer, Propelld, Grayquest, and Eduvanz collectively cornered around $500 million in the last 24 months. The strong preference to study abroad for superior exposure is a significant growth driver for companies like Leap, Leverage Edu, and CollegeDekho. Incred, a prominent player in the overseas educational loan space, reported that such loans accounted for 21% of its total disbursal in FY24. According to InCred’s founder, Bhupinder Singh, the growth prospects and increasing awareness in this segment have contributed to its [overseas educational loan] rapid expansion.

Exclusive: Pravega and IIFL invest in GrayQuest’s Series B

EntrackrEntrackr · 10m ago
Exclusive: Pravega and IIFL invest in GrayQuest’s Series B
Medial

Education loans-focused fintech startup GrayQuest is set to raise Rs 53 crore ($6 million) in a Series B round co-led by Pravega Fund and IIFL Fintech Fund. The board of GrayQuest has passed a resolution to offer and issue 6,228 fully paid up and 1,530 partly paid up Series B preference shares at an issue price of Rs 69,062 each to raise Rs 53.57 crore. Pravega Ventures and IIFL Fintech Fund each invested Rs 21.50 crore, while the company’s founder, Rishab Sumer Mehta, also participated with shares worth Rs 10.56 crore. The shares allotted to Rishab are partly paid, meaning the remaining amount will be called upon when the board decides. GrayQuest will utilize the fresh funding to meet financial requirements and support its expansion plan, the firm’s regulatory filings disclosed. The company has also increased its ESOP pool size by adding 1,204 new options, bringing the total ESOP pool to 5,718 options, as per a separate filing. Entrackr estimates that GrayQuest’s ESOP pool is currently valued at $4.5 million. The Mumbai-based startup had raised $7 million in its Series A round back in March last year, and $1.2 million worth pre-Series A round in August 2020. According to the startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, GrayQuest has been valued at around Rs 530 crore ( $64 million) post-allotment. The Series B round appears to be ongoing, and the startup is likely to raise additional funds, which could result in a variation in its valuation. Following the fresh proceeds, Pravega Ventures will hold 10.94% of the company, while IIFL Fintech Fund will own 4.07%. Its Founder Rishab Sumer Mehta will command a handsome 38.59% stake in the company. Seven-year-old GrayQuest is an integrated fee collection platform for educational institutions, allowing parents to pay annual education fees in flexible monthly installments with zero interest. Recently, Grayquest was selected for Co-Lab initiative, which was launched by HDFC Bank in collaboration with Pravega Ventures. For the fiscal year ending in March 2023, the startup reported Rs 8.76 crore in operating revenue with Rs 26.3 crore loss. It has yet to publish FY24 results. According to data compiled by TheKredible, GrayQuest and its competitors, including Leap, Auxilo, Avanse Financial, Financepeer, Propelld, Mpower Financing, and Eduvanz, have collectively secured approximately $500 million in funding over the past 24 months. In July, Entrackr exclusively reported that Leap is in talks to raise a new round at unicorn valuation.

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