Online math class platform Cuemath raises $57 mn, tops $407 mn valuation

The funding was led by Alpha Wave and the capital would help the firm to expand to over 100 countries by FY23

Cuemath, the one-on-one online math tutoring platform, has raised $ 57 million in a fresh round led by Alpha Wave at a valuation of  $407 million – a more than 2X jump in valuation. The funding comes at a time when the falling valuations, slowing funding rounds and faltering investor sentiments, have prompted many start-ups, especially in the edtech sector, to lay off employees in a bid to conserve cash.

The funds will fuel strengthening product-pedagogy outcomes, hypergrowth initiatives, acquisition and partnerships, and catalyse its efforts to build a strong global math brand. Currently present in more than 70 countries, Cuemath aims to expand to over 100 countries by FY’23. This plan includes bolstering its presence in North America, APAC, the UK, Europe, Middle East and capturing markets in Africa and South America.

“Cuemath’s latest fundraise is a significant feat given the present industry trends. Valuations have become more realistic with rationalization hitting the market; only those growth-stage start-ups with solid business fundamentals can now establish trust with VCs,” said Vivek Sunder, CEO at Cuemath. “Therefore, this substantial inbound interest from all our existing investors validates Cuemath as a knowledge expert in the global after-school math tutoring market and signals acknowledgment of the developments over the past few quarters.”

Sunder said Cuemath has shown promising growth since the last funding. Product innovation and personalization coupled with a low Capex model augmented our global scale-up and beefed our conversion rates by 3X. With the best-in-class retention and acquisition engine, we have created a powerful combination of a sustainable and scalable business model.”

"What distinguishes Cuemath from almost every other edtech company is that we focus on one thing and one thing only - deep math learning outcomes,” said Manan Khurma, founder and chairman, Cuemath.

He said in every Cuemath class, the student experiences a powerful and personalized combination of a highly visual math curriculum delivered by a rigorously trained, caring teacher. “This has enabled Cuemath to have one of the best retention rates in the industry (80 per cent), with half of all new admissions happening via referrals,” said Khurma. “These industry-leading metrics encouraged all our investment partners to support us yet again in our global math mission.”

Led by Alpha Wave, this fundraise includes all their existing investors, including Lightrock India, Sequoia Capital India; Alphabet independent growth fund CapitalG; Manta Ray; and Unitus.

"Cuemath’s ability to successfully deliver outstanding learning outcomes through its proprietary platform and top-tier pedagogy has continued to impress us,” said Anirudh Singh, MD at Alpha Wave Global. “Not only in India, its success in key international markets like the US, UK, Middle East, and Singapore, while maintaining high-quality unit economics differentiates the company in a competitive and dynamic edtech market”

Divya Venkatavaraghavan, an investor at Lightrock India said the Cuemath team have built a student-first product, designed for the future of work and focused on learning outcomes. “Cuemath's quality of traction in 70 countries and its efforts to build a parent-centric engagement model has only strengthened our conviction in the team.”

Surya Mantha, an investor at Unitus Ventures said Cuemath has all the ingredients for robust and sustained growth and is well on its way to becoming an admired global education brand.

Cuemath’s vision is to become the number one maths teaching platform globally, and its mission is to create the next generation of invincible problem solvers. Cuemath said its growth will be impactful and efficient rather than capital intensive.