School edtech platform LEAD raises Rs 160 crore in debt capital, a day after layoffs
Summary
However, the company did not disclose anything on the new fundraise then.LEADs debt fundraise comes at a time when many direct-to-consumer edtech companies in the country are struggling to raise equity funding amid a slowdown in venture capital and private equity investments. Edtech companies are thus looking to cut costs as they are expecting slower growth in the coming quarters.Traditionally, startups have had limited avenues for raising capital beyond equity. However, with our strong unit economics and a clear path to profitability, we have been able to attract non-dilutive, traditional capital from Indias biggest banks and largest venture debt funds, which is value accretive to our shareholders, said Sumeet Mehta, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of LEAD.LEAD is poised for 2X growth and this latest round of funding will help us fast-track our mission of providing high quality, integrated School Edtech solutions to over 60,000 schools across India by 2026, Mehta added.Founded by Mehta and Smita Deorah in 2012, LEAD runs a platform that tracks teacher and student progress, managing school operations on the cloud and providing digital resources to make learning more engaging. The company turned a unicorn in January 2022.For FY22, LEAD reported a net loss of Rs 397.1 crore , which widened from Rs 126.1 crore a year earlier, as the companys employee benefit costs surged more than 2.5 times during the year. However, with schools reopening in FY22, LEAD managed to double its revenue to Rs 141.6 crore in FY22 from a year earlier.