Leeds, Prosus lead $113 mn round in Eruditus | Economic Times

BENGALURU: Edtech startup Eruditus has raised $113 million in funding led by Leeds Illuminate and South African internet giant Prosus Ventures (formerly Naspers Ventures) with participation from Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan's philanthropic organisation, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Existing investors Sequoia India and Ved Capital also participated in the fundraising.ET first wrote about this funding round on August 29. People familiar with the deal told ET that about $20 million of the investment is a secondary cash out, while $93 million has been infused in the company.With the latest investment, the company’s valuation has jumped to over $800 million, sources said, making the executive education firm among the most valued edtech startups in the country.Eruditus partners with top-tier universities across the US, Europe, Latin America, India and China to bring professional education to a global audience.“Covid-19 is dramatically accelerating change across higher education,” said Ashwin Damera, cofounder and chief executive at Eruditus. “We are engaging more deeply with universities worldwide to help them expand their online portfolio and global footprint.” Eruditus has partnered with more than 30 universities to date, including MIT, Columbia, Harvard, Cambridge, INSEAD, Wharton, UC Berkeley and NUS, launching more than 100 courses across multiple languages.CZI had backed Byju’s in 2016, its first investment in India and Asia. Prosus Ventures is also an investor in Byju’s.