Companies
K12 Techno bags $40 mn from Kenro Capital at ₹5,000 crore valuation
Summary
Existing investors Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia Capital India) and Sofina will sell part stakes through this transaction, according to a person in the know.
Bengaluru-based K12 Techno Services has secured $40 million ( ₹340 crore) from venture capital firm Kenro Capital, according to a statement from the education and technology services provider on Wednesday.
The deal has been struck at a valuation of about ₹5,000 crore, a person aware of the matter said on condition of anonymity. Existing investors Sofina and Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia Capital India) will sell part stakes through this transaction, the person added.
The company was valued at ₹4,000 crore during its last fundraise from Kedaara Capital in November 2023.
Growth focus
K12 Techno aims to scale up its technology-led services to students and schools across the country.
The deal marks Kenro Capital’s first investment since its launch last month. Founded by Piyush Gupta, formerly managing director at Peak XV Partners, Kenro Capital is dedicated to growth secondaries in India and Southeast Asia’s venture ecosystem.
The firm aims to pick minority stakes in growth companies across various sectors that have achieved revenue scale, are profitable, or are near profitability, and have other critical attributes that give them the potential of a public listing in two to three years after investment.
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Kenro Capital will deploy $20-30 million per investment with flexibility for larger amounts through co-investment opportunities, it said in a statement last month.
K12 Techno Services offers solutions encompassing education, content, and technology to over 900 educational institutions nationwide and serves more than 350,000 students, according to the company.
“India’s education sector is poised for transformative growth, driven by strong demographic trends with 265 million school-going children and 24 million new births in 2023," Gupta, who is founder and managing partner at Kenro Capital, said in the statement.
He added that the demand for quality education continues to soar, particularly in the private segment where CBSE curriculum-based schools lead the way.
“K12 Techno’s scale enables unparalleled advantages in multiple areas of student engagement, teacher recruitment, infrastructure, and cutting-edge IT and curriculum development, distinguishing it from standalone education institutions," Gupta said.
In March, Mint reported that K12 Techno Services will see its revenue increase from ₹383 crore in FY23 to about ₹450 crore in FY24 on the back of increased demand for its services from schools, according to a senior executive at the company.
The March report said that the company also plans to launch an initial public offering (IPO) in three to four years, quoting its CEO Jai Decosta.
He had said the company would stick to its core strategy of partnering with schools for 20-30-year periods. Such long-term agreements, he said, have helped it grow sustainably even as the wider edtech industry faces issues such as high burn and a dearth of funding.
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