Startup funding: Edtech startup GradRight, which helps students select and finance their higher education, on Thursday announced raising Rs 50 crore in the Series A funding round from homegrown venture capital firm IvyCap Ventures. GradRight, through Artificial Intelligence, helps students select colleges and finance their education by enabling education loans.
The company said that it will utilise the funds to make international higher education more accessible and affordable for students of lower and middle-income students. Using data science, it provides students with options in choosing suitable courses and universities and helps them avail of education loans to study in India or abroad, eliminating intermediaries.
With the latest round, Tej Kapoor, the Managing Partner of IvyCap Ventures will join the Board of GradRight, on behalf of IvyCap Ventures.
Aman Singh, Co-Founder and CEO of GradRight and Sasidhar Sista, Co-Founder and COO said, “Globally, millions of capable students struggle to select and finance their higher education. Four out of five students who aspire to pursue higher education are unable to enrol, mainly due to a lack of adequate guidance and financial constraints. As a tech-first company with a platform-based approach to solving these problems, we are committed to ensuring that every student has the resources they need to obtain the education they deserve.”
According to the release, over the last two years, GradRight’s platform has processed loan requests of over $1.75 billion (Rs 14,300 crore) and assisted more than 55,000 students. The platform has partnerships with 15 lenders and over 50 international academic institutions in the US, Canada, and Europe, offering students a choice of 13,100 programs across 1,000 universities.
“GradRight has the potential to transform the global higher education admissions and financing market. Their technology-driven solution is well-positioned for profitable scaling; it is adaptable across markets and can emerge as a leader in the sector,” said Vikram Gupta, Founder and Managing Partner, of IvyCap Ventures.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs estimates, about 13,24,954 Indian students were studying abroad in 2022. The United States of America was the favourite destination for Indian students, with over 4.65 lakh students, followed by Canada with 1.83 lakh students and Australia with just over 1 lakh students.
Moreover, as per the Ministry of Finance data presented in parliament during the winter session in February this year, about 4.61 lakh students utilised education loans, amounting to Rs 39,268.62 crores for studying abroad in the last 10 years.
Also, according to the figures by B2B digital platform ForeignAdmits, the average ticket size of an education loan to study in the United States was Rs 40.6 lakhs (approx. $49,474 USD) being utilized for their Master’s course. Australia followed close behind with an average loan amount of Rs 33.13 lakhs (approx. $40,366 USD); The United Kingdom emerged in the third spot with an average loan amount of Rs 31.03 lakhs (approx. $37,808 USD). Canada follows suit with Rs 27.74 lakhs (approx. $33,800 USD), FE Digital had reported in June this year.