1947 Rise ☀️: 201

Sequoia India rasies $2.85B fund, UpGrad raised $225M and more!

1. Sequoia raises $2.85 billion to finance entrepreneurs in India, Southeast Asia

Despite a stock market crash shaking digital companies, Sequoia India and Sequoia Southeast Asia raised $2.85 billion across three funds to continue financing entrepreneurs in the region. Sequoia is introducing a specific Southeast Asian fund worth $850 million for the first time, while the Indian venture and growth funds will receive $2 billion.

“Today we are pleased to announce the launch of our first dedicated SEA fund, Sequoia SEA Fund I, an $850 million corpus that we will use to partner with the next generation of founders on a mission to build enduring companies from the region,” the firms said in the post.

Sequoia India has expanded its geographic reach to include Southeast Asia since its inception 16 years ago, betting on startups like Gojek and Tokopedia, which have merged to form GoTo Group, Indonesia’s largest publicly traded internet company. Sequoia India and Southeast Asia today manages over $9 billion in assets.

Sequoia raises $2.85 billion to finance entrepreneurs in India, Southeast Asia

2. Edtech unicorn UpGrad raises $225 million in funding, doubles valuation

An education technology unicorn built by a cable TV-era entrepreneur almost doubled its valuation after raising $225 million in fresh funding, balking a frosty global venture capital environment.

India’s UpGrad Education Pvt, founded by Ronnie Screwvala, increased its valuation to $2.25 billion in the round that included billionaire James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems LLC and US testing and assessment provider Educational Testing Service, according to a person familiar with the deal. ETS 

The Mumbai-based company spans several segments, from test prep to study abroad, and undergrad degrees to campus courses in 250 universities. Its offerings include finance, law, business and software for the 18–60 age group. Screwvala founded UpGrad in 2015 with Mayank Kumar and Phalgun Kompalli to offer short courses on entrepreneurship and data science. The founders combined own about 55% of the equity.

Edtech unicorn UpGrad raises $225 million in funding, doubles valuation

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Shiva Singh Sangwan @shivassangwan

For a nation to reach its highest potential You need to empower its children via education This is exactly what @mehtasumeet is working on Helping 🇮🇳 reach its highest potential by making excellent education, accessible and affordable to every child bit.ly/3xEvL7w

bit.ly24: Sumeet Mehta (LEAD) by 1947 RiseSumeet Mehta is the Co-Founder and CEO of LEAD. LEAD’s mission is to empower India by making excellent education, accessible and affordable to every child. LEAD is backed by WestBridge Capital, GSV Ventures and Elevar Equity. SHOW NOTES Sumeet’s journey from growing up in India to moving to Singap…

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Worth your attention:

1. Infra.Market raises $50 million in funding from Liquidity Group’s Mars Unicorn Fund Link

2. Goat Brand Labs raises $50 mn from new, existing investors Link

3. China’s Tencent buys stake worth ₹2,060 crore in Flipkart from Binny Bansal Link

4. Shiprocket takes majority stake in Pickrr in a $200 million deal, closing Shyplite buy too Link

5. Glance | NFT: Glance bets big on US expansion and NFT-tokens Link

6. B2B supply chain startup Groyyo raises $40 million in mix of equity and debt led by Tiger Global Link

7. Lenskart raises $28 million from Avendus Future Leaders Fund II Link

8. Edtech company: Why edtech players are planning to focus on a hybrid model Link

9. UPI, RuPay Cards To Be Accepted in France After NPCI International Signs MoU With Lyra Network | 📰… Link

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