Hippocampus raises $600,000 bridge round from existing investors
Summary
NEW DELHI: Hippocampus Learning Centres has raised $600,000 (Rs 3.5 crore) from its existing institutional investors , the Bangalore-based rural education services provider announced late on Tuesday.The proceeds from the latest equity investment, which is a bridge round, will be used by Hippocampus Learning Centres to expand its network, particularly in the upcoming financial year. Hippocampus is part of an emerging movement in India to bring high-value, affordable services to the masses, said Dave Richards, managing partner, Unitus Seed Fund.In 2012, the company raised $1.5 million (Rs 9.2 crore) from Lok Capital and Acumen Fund. It was also among the first three seed-stage investments made by Bangalore and Seattle-based Unitus Seed Fund in the same year.Last year, a senior company executive said that Hippocampus was in the process of raising a fresh round of capital, estimated to be about $5 million (Rs 30.8 crore).Founded by IIT Madras alumni and former Infosys Technologies employee Umesh Malhotra in 2011, Hippocampus provides quality learning to children in rural India through its pre-school education centres.Hippocampus expects to expand its enrollments to more than 7,500 students this coming year, the press release stated.With this new capital, we will be able to push forward with our expansion plans for the 2014-15 academic year and continue to invest in preparation for further scaling up, said Malhotra, chief executive of Hippocampus Learning Centres.Early-to-mid stage risk capital firms have once again turned their gaze on Indias education service providers. On Tuesday, ET was the first to report that Noida-based LIQVID e-Learning Services had entered into talks with a clutch of venture capital firms to raise up to $10 million in funding.Separately, investors made a handsome exit from their investment in Bangalore-based TutorVista , after it was acquired by British media Group Pearson Plc last year. However, successes have been few and far in between.Participation by venture capital in Indias broader education space also took a sharp plunge in 2013 when investments dropped to just $13 million (Rs 79.9 crore), compared with $77 million (Rs 473.4 crore) invested in 2012, according to research firm Venture Intelligence.