Mumbai-based Eruditus has announced that it has raised $650 Million in a new financing round. The funding round was led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Accel.The Indian startup was valued at $3.2 billion by the new financing round, which includes secondary and primary transactions. This is an increase of approximately $700 million from last year. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board was also part of the new round.Eruditus counts Chan Zuckerberg Initiative as one of its backers. It has a close relationship with more than 30 top universities including MIT, Harvard and Columbia. These universities work together with Eruditus to create courses that offer higher education for students. These courses can cost anywhere from $5,000 to $40,000.This new fundraise is coming at a time when Indian startups have been raising record capital from high profile investors. India is the second-largest internet market in the world. This year, India has seen the production of 23 unicorns (Eruditus being the 23rd), a significant increase from the 11 unicorns last year and six in 2019. Some investors have increased their focus on South Asia after China, another rare market with high growth, enacted a series regulatory changes that has resulted in the eradication of hundreds of billions of US dollars.SoftBank's second major bet in India's edtech sector is Eruditus. Unacademy has been supported by the Japanese investment company.UpGrad, a Bangalore-based startup specializing in higher education and upskilling, joined the unicorn club this week. VerSe Innovation, the company behind news aggregator Dailyhunt and short video app Josh, announced that it had raised more than $450 million in a fresh financing round.This is an ongoing story. There will be more to come.
