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Exclusive: Unacademy in talks to merge with Orchid schools owner K12 Techno

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Exclusive: Unacademy in talks to merge with Orchid schools owner K12 Techno
Medial

Edtech unicorn Unacademy is in discussion to merge with K12 Techno, which runs the chain of Orchids International Schools, three sources told Entrackr. This would be the first major consolidation in the edtech space which has been witnessing funding drought in the past two years. “The two companies have been discussing the terms of the merger for the last four weeks,” said one of the sources requesting anonymity. “If the merger gets through, both companies will own 50% each in the joint entity.” It’s worth noting that Unacademy made an investment in Orchid School (K12 Techno) three years ago, and Peak XV is a common investor in both companies. Sources assert that Unacademy also wanted to acquire Orchid School in 2021, but the discussions didn’t materialize. Queries sent to Unacademy and Orchid Schools remain unanswered until publication of this story. We will update the story in case they respond. The 14-year-old K12 Techno provides full stack education, content, and technology services to more than 900 educational institutions across the country through a combination of its own brand, and curriculum and technology platform. It provides management services to ICSE and CBSE curriculum schools from kindergarten to class X-XII, based in metros like Bengaluru, Mumbai, Gurugram and many mid-sized cities under the ‘Orchid’ brand. According to startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, K12 Techno registered Rs 382 crore in revenue in FY23 with Rs 39 crore loss. The firm expected to close FY24 with Rs 450 crore with EBITDA of nearly Rs 100 crore. Recently, Venturi Partners purchased a $27 million worth stake in K12 Techno Services from Navneet Learning LLP, subsidiary of Navneet Education Limited. Softbank-backed Unacademy raised its last equity round of $440 million led by Temasek at a valuation of $3.44 billion in August 2021. ​During fiscal year FY23, Unacademy saw a 26% jump in its operating revenue to Rs 907 crore while controlling losses by nearly 40% to Rs 1,004 core. In the beginning of FY24, the company also claimed that it was close to profitability at the group level. The firm is yet to file its audited financial statements for FY24.

Funding and acquisitions in Indian startups this week [22-27 Apr]

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Funding and acquisitions in Indian startups this week [22-27 Apr]
Medial

During the week, as many as 27 Indian startups raised nearly $222.7 million in funding. These deals include 7 growth-stage deals and 17 early-stage deals. Meanwhile, three early-stage startups did not disclose the amount raised. Last week, about 37 early and growth-stage startups collectively raised around $310 million in capital. [Growth-stage deals] Among the growth-stage deals, 7 startups raised $150.6 million in funding this week. Financial services firm Northern Arc led the list with $80 million in funding. The list was followed by network-as-a-service provider CloudExtel, trucking aggregator for enterprises LetsTransport, online marketplace for financial products BankBazaar, provider of business, property, and school financing Clix Capital, agri-fintech platform Samunnati, and co-working space provider Smartworks which raised $24 million, $22 million, $9.6 million, $6 million, $5 million, and $4 million, respectively. [Early-stage deals] Subsequently, 17 early-stage startups scooped funding worth $72.08 million during the week. Omni-channel fashion brand Lyskraft spearheaded the list followed by space-tech startup Dhruva Space, real estate and infra decarbonization platform Accacia, B2C credit management firm CheQ, and an open-source project management platform Plane. The list further includes a provider of Solar EPC solutions Soleos Solar Energy, healthcare and insurtech firm FlashAid, elder care startup bubble tea and other food items platform Boba Bhai, sustainable container logistics and supply chain optimization startup MatchLog, and SIM-based outbound call management company Runo among others. The list of early-stage startups also includes three startups that kept the funding amount undisclosed: FlexiCloud, Nikitek (GoDigiTag), and Rentomojo. [City and segment-wise deals] In terms of the city-wise number of funding deals, Bengaluru-based startups led with 10 deals followed by Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and others. Segment-wise, fintech startups grabbed the top spot with five deals followed by SaaS startups. The list further counts e-commerce, logistics, proptech, healthtech, and AI startups among others. The complete breakdown of deals across cities and segments can be seen below: [Series-wise deals] During the week, Seed funding deals led the list with 11 deals while Pre-Series A deals are at the second position with 6 deals, both collectively forming around 30% of the total funding. Further, Debt, Series C, Series D, and Series E are next on the list among others. [Week-on-week funding trend] On a weekly basis, startup funding declined 28% to $222.7 million as compared to around $310 million raised during the previous week. The average funding in the last eight weeks stands at around $247 million with 26 deals per week. [Departure] Piyush Gupta, the managing director of Peak XV Partners, is set to depart from the firm by the end of this month. Reports suggest that Gupta is planning to establish a secondary-focused fund after his tenure at Peak XV. [Fund launches] Three startup-focused funds were launched this week. Norwest Venture Partners has raised $3 billion for its new fund, NVP 17, which will be deployed in the US, India, and Israel. Lighthouse Canton has launched the LC GenInnov Global Innovation Fund, focusing on companies in generative artificial intelligence (GenAI). Kedaara Capital has closed its fourth investment vehicle, Kedaara IV, at $1.73 billion, making it their fourth fund in 12 years, raised in just four months. [Layoffs] SaaS startup HealthPlix laid off 100 employees, constituting 25% of its workforce, as part of a restructuring and annual performance review. According to a report, approximately 60 employees were terminated due to poor performance, while the rest were affected by role redundancies. [Mergers & Acquisitions] Awign, a work-as-a-service platform, announced the acquisition of a majority stake in Mynavi Corporation. As part of this partnership, some of Awign’s early backers, such as Capria, Lumis, MSDF, Amicus Capital, and Pankaj Bansal, will also depart. [New launches] ▪️ Former BharatPe CPO Ankur Jain to launch new startup Jivi.ai ▪️ BharatPe launches all-in-one payment device BharatPe One [Financial results this week] ▪️ Lenskart is EBITDA profitable with Rs 3,788 Cr revenue in FY23 ▪️ Third Wave Coffee’s scale grows 4.5X to Rs 144 Cr in FY23 ▪️ Groyyo’s gross revenue nears Rs 500 Cr in FY23 ▪️ FarEye spent Rs 361 Cr to earn Rs 139 Cr in FY23 ▪️ Seven-year-old unicorn Open struggles to match deeds to reputation ▪️ Apna Mart, the D Mart for India’s smaller cities, grows 770% in FY23 [News flash this week] ▪️ FirstCry to withdraw IPO papers, may refile with latest financials: Report ▪️ Swiggy gets shareholders’ nod to float $1.25 Bn IPO ▪️ PayU to onboard new merchants as it gets a PA license from RBI ▪️ Awfis, TBO receive a final nod from SEBI for the IPO ▪️ Flipkart Ventures to focus on Gen AI startups in third accelerator program ▪️ Former BharatPe CEO Suhail Sameer floats VC fund ▪️ RBI directs TalkCharge to cease operation ▪️ Zomato piloting priority deliveries in Bengaluru, Mumbai [Conclusion] After a significant rise in funding, the weekly funding again slipped nearly 28% this week. The week saw three new fund launches by VC firms namely Lighthouse Canton, Norwest Venture Partners, and Kedaara Capital. The week also witnessed a layoff as SaaS startup HealthPlix fired a part of its workforce. Brainbees Solutions, the parent company of FirstCry, is reportedly withdrawing its $500 million IPO due to questions raised by SEBI over key disclosed metrics. Swiggy has received shareholders’ approval for its $1.25 billion IPO, moving closer to its public listing. Awfis and TBO have also received SEBI’s approval for their respective IPOs. PayU has received provisional approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to function as a payment aggregator, enabling the fintech company to onboard new merchants. In January 2023, the RBI instructed PayU, controlled by Prosus, to reapply for the license, leading to a temporary halt in onboarding new customers. Foodtech company Zomato is testing a new feature in select areas of Bengaluru and Mumbai, offering priority deliveries to customers for an extra fee. In Bengaluru, users were given the choice of receiving their orders within 16-21 minutes by paying an additional Rs 29, compared to the standard delivery time of 21 minutes displayed on the app.

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