CENTA Raises INR 20 Cr in Extended Series A Round Headed by Colossa Ventures
Bengaluru based ed-tech startup Centre for Teacher Accreditation (CENTA) has raised INR 20 Cr (circa $2.3 Mn) in an extended Series A round of funding. The round saw Colossa Ventures leading the investment, with backing from existing investor Discovery Asset Management, as well as some undisclosed angel investors.
The firm intends to use the fresh capital to ramp up operations and strengthen its tech infrastructure.
Earlier, CENTA had raised INR 7 Cr in seed and Series A funding rounds.
Centred in 2014, CENTA is a teacher certification and teacher-as-a-service platform that boasts of connecting more than 1.7 million teachers to several types of careers. The platform offers services such as recruitment, performance assessment, training, and placements. Although most of its clients are in India, it also serves teachers in more than 100 countries, including the UAE, Nigeria, Philippines, Bangladesh, and Ghana.
CENTA also provides certifications via standardized examinations and organizes the International Teaching Professional's Olympiad (TPO).
The investment is a welcome boost to India's edtech industry, which has been gradually picking up post-pandemic. Following a sharp fall, 2024 witnessed a revival, with sector startups raising $568 Mn, a growth from $283 Mn in 2023. Deal volume, however, dropped by 38%, from 47 deals in 2023 to a mere 29 in 2024.
A large portion of the capital raised was fueled by Physics Wallah and Eruditus' large funding rounds, which collectively represented 62% of the industry's total funding in 2024.
Following a similar pattern, Leap raised $65 Mn in Series E funding in January 2024, while Suraasa, another edtech company with a focus on teacher upskilling, raised $6 Mn in a round led by Reach Capital to fuel global expansion and tech development.
Even with recent indicators of improvement, the Indian edtech market, which is estimated to hit $29 Bn by 2030, is still struggling to overcome the implications of such failures as the BYJU's debacle. Though 2024 indicated a hopeful trend, the sector continues to lag behind its 2021 investment high.
The firm intends to use the fresh capital to ramp up operations and strengthen its tech infrastructure.
Earlier, CENTA had raised INR 7 Cr in seed and Series A funding rounds.
Centred in 2014, CENTA is a teacher certification and teacher-as-a-service platform that boasts of connecting more than 1.7 million teachers to several types of careers. The platform offers services such as recruitment, performance assessment, training, and placements. Although most of its clients are in India, it also serves teachers in more than 100 countries, including the UAE, Nigeria, Philippines, Bangladesh, and Ghana.
CENTA also provides certifications via standardized examinations and organizes the International Teaching Professional's Olympiad (TPO).
The investment is a welcome boost to India's edtech industry, which has been gradually picking up post-pandemic. Following a sharp fall, 2024 witnessed a revival, with sector startups raising $568 Mn, a growth from $283 Mn in 2023. Deal volume, however, dropped by 38%, from 47 deals in 2023 to a mere 29 in 2024.
A large portion of the capital raised was fueled by Physics Wallah and Eruditus' large funding rounds, which collectively represented 62% of the industry's total funding in 2024.
Following a similar pattern, Leap raised $65 Mn in Series E funding in January 2024, while Suraasa, another edtech company with a focus on teacher upskilling, raised $6 Mn in a round led by Reach Capital to fuel global expansion and tech development.
Even with recent indicators of improvement, the Indian edtech market, which is estimated to hit $29 Bn by 2030, is still struggling to overcome the implications of such failures as the BYJU's debacle. Though 2024 indicated a hopeful trend, the sector continues to lag behind its 2021 investment high.
