Indonesian edtech startup Ruangguru has raised USD 150 million in a Series C funding round led by General Atlantic and GGV Capital, making this one of the largest amounts of capital raised by an edtech startup in Southeast Asia. Several existing and new investors also participated in this round of funding.
Ruangguru will utilize the fresh investment to expand its product range across Indonesia and Vietnam, according to an official statement by the company. Both General Atlantic and GGV Capital are familiar with the edtech scene. The former is one of the investors of Bangalore-based edtech company Byju, while the latter has backed several edtech startups in China such as FengBian and NYSE-listed LiuLiShuo.
Ruangguru was founded by Belva Devara and Iman Usman in 2014. The startup claims to have more than 15 million users and works with more than 300,000 teachers who offer online courses in over 100 subjects. It also works closely with all levels of the Indonesian government.
In October, Ruangguru expanded its services into Vietnam through a platform called Kien Guru. According to its official website, Kien Guru has desktop and mobile versions, and it currently has over 4,000 video lectures, and more than 15,000 pieces of supplementary learning materials including question banks, practice exercises, infographics, and more.
Speculation about Ruangguru’s fundraising first surfaced in July when CEO Belva Devara told local media that Ruangguru was about to raise a “big” round of investment, one that could propel it to unicorn status this year or the next. Softbank would reportedly participate in the company’s new investment, however the speculation has yet to materialize.
