One of the Mid-market private equity firm Gaja Capital has invested $25 million (about ₹172 crore) in Ahmedabad- and Bengaluru-based educational technology company Educational Initiatives, it has marked its eighth investment from its third fund. managing partner of Gaja Capital, Gopal Jain informed about the transaction but did not share further investment details.
2018 has been an active year for The Gaja Capital. The PE firm manages assets of about $500 million across its three investment vehicles, having already recorded two strong exits — TeamLease and RBL Bank — in April and June, respectively. Both investments were made from its second fund — the $180 million Gaja-II.
Mr Jian said, “Education is core to our investment strategy and we are long-term believers in the K-12 opportunity in India. Education is poised for its ‘cure moment’. The answer to improved learning outcomes is more a Google Maps of education than an Amazon or Netflix approach”.
They added, People aware of the development, the transaction closed in the past few days and is a mix of primary and secondary components. It will see the PE firm pick up a significant minority stake in the company. The latest investment has been made from Gaja Capital’s third fund, the $240 million Gaja – III, with the firm targeting an overall 12 investments from its current investment vehicle.
“One size doesn’t fit all. The right solution ascertains where you are, where you want to go, and gives you the optimal path and tools to get there. Educational Initiatives is well placed to deliver on this promise,” Jain said.
The company is expected to use the proceeds to build its technology platforms, expand its product portfolio as well as enter new markets, including the US.
The company is founded by Srini Raghavan, Sridhar Rajagopalan, Sudhir Ghodke, and Venkat Krishnan, has emerged as one of the largest ed-tech companies in the K-12 assessments and adaptive learning segments in India. The company has two flagship products, Asset and Mindspark, and also has a significant presence in the United Arab Emirates.
The founder emphasis on Building on its core strengths of diagnostic assessments and adaptive learning, they are working to define each child’s learning path and aligning it with educational goals and career aspirations using state-of-the-art machine learning and AI tools,
“This investment from Gaja Capital comes at a time when we stand on the threshold of a new paradigm of learning,” said Mr Raghavan, chief executive of Educational Initiatives.