Indian edtech start-up Cuemath raises $15m in CapitalG-led round
Bengaluru-based edtech start-up Cuemath has raised $15m in a series B round of funding, led by CapitalG (formerly known as Google Capital), Alphabet's equity investment fund. The money will be used to develop its products and expand the business. Cuemath, which offers tablet-based content to local teachers, has 2,000 tutors helping more than 10,000 students in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad and Chennai. The company aims to raise these figures to 5,000 tutors and 40,000 children, and said its micro-franchisee model is ideal for women looking to tutoring to switch, restart or improve their careers.
New Delhi: Education start-up Cuemath, run by Cuelearn Pvt. Ltd, has raised $15 million in Series B round of funding led by equity investment fund of Alphabet Inc., CapitalG (formerly known as Google Capital), the company said in a statement on Monday.

Existing investor Sequoia India also participated in the round. The company will use the funds for business expansion and product development.

Previously, the company had raised $4 million from Sequoia India and Unitus Seed Fund in June 2016. The company is also backed by Alok Mittal, former managing director of Canaan Partners.

Founded in 2013, Bengaluru-based Cuemath provides after-school math classes. It uses physical worksheets, quiz cards, along with other tablet-based content it develops in-house and targets students from lower kindergarten to Class 8. It operates on a micro-franchisee model, where local tutors sign up with the company to conduct classes at their home.

The company claims to create impact by offering home-based career opportunity to women who are looking to switch, restart or kick-start their careers in tutoring. At present, Cuemath has 2,000 tutors educating more than 10,000 students across cities such like Delhi, Bengalure, Mumbai, Chennai, Pune and Hyderabad. By expanding to more cities in India, Cuemath seeks to ramp up its strength to 5,000 tutors and enroll 40,000 children by March 2018.

“Schools, by design, cater to only a limited subset of math. Although many of them do a good job at it, our children need much more. Through its multi-format tech-enabled learning system, Cuemath ensures that children not only master math but also fall in love with it." said Cuemath’s founder Manan Khurma in a statement.

“Cuemath’s data and technology is used to define each student’s learning trajectory and guide the Cuemath Teacher on exactly what to teach and how to teach it," added Anshumani Ruddra, chief product officer, Cuemath.

Cuemath is one of the many education start-ups such as Vidyanext, Genius, Flipclass and Vedantu that are using technology to help change after-school tuitions in India.

Bengalure-based Vedantu Innovations Pvt. Ltd, in 2015 had raised $5 million from Accel Partners and Tiger Global Management.

In March 2016, FlipClass (run by Gyankosh Solutions Pvt Ltd), which operates as a marketplace for home tutors, had raised $1 million in funding from S. Chand and Co. Pvt. Ltd, a publisher of textbooks and online educational content, and venture firm Blume Ventures.