There are organisations around the world that are quietly and consistently affecting the lives of millions across the world. When we think about such, Eruditus comes to mind. With their commendable work, students across the world continue to gain access to quality education. Eruditus, a Mumbai-based firm in India has been able to reach students in over 80 countries offering more than 100 executive-level courses in order to eradicate illiteracy caused by poverty.
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On August 31, Eruditus announced the successful raising of a Series D funding of over $113 million. This financing is the result of Eruditus’ efforts towards shoring up its capacity and further increasing its reach and affect more lives around the world.
The fundraising was co-led by Prosus Ventures and Leeds Illuminate with participation from investors like Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan’s Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Sequoia India and Ved Capital which puts the total raise at over $160 million. The Series D funding took Eruditus’ total value to over $700 million. Avendus Capital assisted Eruditus with professional financial consultation throughout the process of the funding.
Eruditus has long maintained a solid relationship with over 30 high standard universities including Harvard, MIT, Columbia, Wharton, Cambridge, UC Berkeley, IIY, INSEAD, IIM and NUS. The relationship between Eruditus and these institutions is geared towards offering students with high standard levels of education which cost about $5,000 to $40,000. The main benefactors of these activities are students who desire quality education.
The 10-year old start-up has branches in over six countries and has over 650 people on its payroll. Eruditus has touched the lives of over 50,000 students in the last 12 months by offering quality education to these students all around the world. In India, Eruditus became the second organisation backed by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. With the first organisation to receive investment from Chan Zuckerberg being Byju’s, which has become the most valued edtech startup in the world.
Vivian Wu, Managing Partner at Chan Zuckerberg Initiative says “Eruditus serves as a critical innovation partner for top universities as they expand online course offerings in response to workforce needs and market demand.” She adds, “We’re excited to support the growing partnerships between U.S. Universities and those in India, China and Latin America that are making truly high-quality education accessible to a broad and diverse range of students.”
Eruditus plans to use this new funding to partner with more universities around the world and invest in more career-ready courses in order to equip the work force with necessary skills and experience required to thrive after the pandemic is over.
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Head of Investments for India Prosus Ventures; Ashutosh Sharma says, “Eruditus’ goals are a great match for ours, democratizing access to quality resources for a much broader audience. The value of the teachings of the great Institutions has been rationed to those who can physically and monetarily access their facilities. Eruditus unlocks those assets and enables those institutions to help a whole new cohort of learners around the globe.”
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