Sequoia India is poised to invest over $50 million in K12 Techno Services, a startup that provides a range of services to educational institutions and manages its own chain of schools. Before, two sources familiar with the matter told TechCrunch.
K12 Techno Services — which has raised more than $75 million in previous rounds, according to Tracxn — has engaged with TPG and Acel in recent weeks but has decided to stick with its current backer, Sequoia India, one of the sources said.
The terms of the investment are subject to change as the round is not yet closed, the sources warned, requesting anonymity. It’s unclear if anyone other than Sequoia is investing in the round.
K12 Techno Services manages Orchids – an international school chain in over two dozen cities in India. It operates more than 90 schools that teach subjects ranging from robotics to philosophy for individual “360-degree development.” Orchids has served more than 75,000 students, according to its website.
It also offers integrated curriculum, an online classroom platform and other school management applications to more than 300 schools through its Let’s Learn arm. “Our comprehensive solutions are scalable and adaptable to work effectively for all types of schools. Designed for the holistic development of students, they are effective for a variety of school management functions, and therefore for schools,” it states on its website.
Sparkle Box, another arm of K12, operates an e-commerce store for custom-made activity kits aimed at kids.
K12 did not respond to a query on Thursday, while Sequoia India declined to comment.
The deal represents Sequoia’s aggressive and multifaceted approach to India, where more than 300 million students go to school and participate in competitive college entrance exams. It is one of the original sponsors of Baiju, Yunadami and Doubtnut, serving students from kindergarten to college. He is also an investor in Eruditus, which provides higher education to students in dozens of markets.
Edtech startups in India – and beyond – are among the worst hit by the ongoing market downturn that has reversed much of the gains made during a 13-year-long bull run. The edtech industry in the South Asian market has cut nearly 5,000 jobs this year.
