On October 12, government test preparation platform Adda247 said it raised $35 million in a funding round led by WestBridge Capital. Adda247 said the round also saw Google participating as new and existing investors, including Info Edge and Asha Impact.

Edtech startups are seeing funding dry up as growth stalls for new-age tech companies offering online education and in-person classes.

In a statement, the company said it would use the funds raised to boost its technology and product profile, expand its student advising team and recruit for some key leadership positions. Interestingly, Adda247 also plans to explore some strategic acquisitions in the coming months to complement its offerings in the government job readiness category.

Founded in 2016 by Anil Nagar and Saurabh Bansal, Adda247 is an edtech startup that provides exam preparation courses for public sector banks, government departments and Indian Railways and caters to the learning needs of students in second-tier cities in India.

“The company’s origin is to solve the education problem in townships. We come from a rural background and see a lack of guidance and quality education for people. All our products are focused on ‘Building for Bharat’ as 85% of our user base is from tier 2, Tier 3 and Tier 4 cities. We want to help level the playing field by providing various learning solutions for students from different backgrounds,” said Nagar, CEO of Adda247.

The move comes as India witnesses the growth of startups in Tier 2 and below cities. Adda247 said the new fundraiser would also support its plans to move deeper into the vernacular test prep category by building new curricula and setting up teachers for other state-level exams. The startup added that it offers more than 500 government exams in more than 12 local languages.

Adda247 courses are available in 12 languages, including English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Bengali, Odia, Punjabi, Gujarati, Assamese, Malayalam and Bhojpuri. In FY21, the startup posted a revenue of Rs 37 crore while posting a loss of Rs 15.2 crore.

However, Adda247 has not disclosed its FY22 financials. Adda247 said it currently has about 22 million monthly active users, with 2 million paying users. Earlier in November 2021, Adda247 raised $20 million in a funding round led by WestBridge Capital.