Edutech startup Cuemath raises $4M funding

Cuemath, which offers a technology platform for women to run home-based learning centers for young students, has raised $4 million in Series A funding from Sequoia India. Growing over 4X in six months, the Edutech startup plans to expand its home-based math learning network in International markets and increase the number of teachers that use its platform from 1,200 to 5,000.

The latest funding includes the current investors - United Seed Fund- who invested Rs one crore in 2014 also. Another undisclosed amount was raised from Alok Mittal, former managing director of Canaan Partners in August.

Founded in 2013, Cuemath is a technology-driven platform where in-house physical worksheets, quiz cards, along with other tablet-based content are developed for students from LKG to class 8. The startup operates on a micro-franchisee model where local tutors sign up with the company.

As Manan Khurma, founder of Cuemath says, Cuemath is razor focused on math, “What we are essentially saying is that we don’t require someone to teach actively. Unlike others, in our case, the system is doing the teaching, and not the teacher. Math is the biggest need for children. Fitting many subjects into the same time slot will dilute the learning."

He further added, “To deliver the most effective learning there has to be an offline component. A purely online pedagogy would not work especially for the segment of young learners. Training of the teachers is online; having an offline component is not a hindrance to scale.”

Cuemath’s distribution model focuses on economically empowering, especially women, across age groups, making them part of a skilled workforce while giving them the flexibility of working from home. Abheek Anand, Principal, Sequoia Capital India Advisors says, "This is a company that marries strong performance with a mission to solve a very real problem faced in this country today – how to enable millions of educated, talented women to employ their skills from the flexibility of their home."

The firm has its presence in six Indian cities: New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Pune.

Other edutech startups have also raised significant funds this year. For e.g., Toppr raised Rs 65 crore for expansion in May, Bengaluru-based Vedantu raising $5 million from Accel Partners and Tiger Global Management. Simplilearn raised its third round of $ 15 million funding in April this year.