Foundation Holdings, a strategic global investment firm headquartered in the UAE, announced an investment of US$42 million in Toppr Technologies Pvt Ltd, a leading AI ed-tech platform.
Founded in 2013, Toppr is on a mission to personalize the learning experience, and provides the widest K12 syllabus coverage with thousands of course combinations. Its AI ed-tech platform currently boasts more than 10.3 million learners and enables the students to prepare for various school, board, and competitive exams through leveraging Natural Language Processing to solve any doubts they may have instantly. The platform integrates artificial intelligence, machine learning, and big data to study student behaviors and create adaptive learning paths with infinite combinations.
The investment by Foundation Holdings will further help develop the AI-based Toppr School Operating System (OS) – a ground-breaking digital platform for schools that integrates in-school and after-school learning to create a personalized experience.
Toppr’s ambition is to implement a benchmark model for AI-enabled, blended education delivery through empowering institutions to create a teacher-driven platform. While the basic version of the offering will remain free, the premium version unlocks wider platform access and additional offerings.
Speaking on the partnership, Abhishek Sharma, CEO of Foundation Holdings said: “The COVID-19 pandemic led lockdowns have turned the spotlight on ed-tech and the potential power the sector can unleash. We believe that an omni-channel, blended learning model is the future of education in the region and beyond. Toppr’s leading adaptive educational platform will ensure we deliver impact at an unprecedented scale. We hope to further elevate Toppr’s brand equity to eventually make it IPO ready and facilitate its listing on the Nasdaq or any similar international stock exchange.
Foundation Holdings already supports the UAE Education Vision 2021 which states that providing first-rate education system is a pillar of the National Agenda in line with Vision 2021 and intend to partner and bring Toppr to the GCC to help support this Education 2021 Vision. EdTech has largely been focused on serving Education, but the next generation of EdTech companies are taking a learner-centric approach.”
Zishaan Hayath, Founder and CEO, Toppr, said: “We are delighted with Foundation Holdings’ decision to support our mission of personalizing the learning experience. We will certainly benefit from its expertise in the education sector and its extensive GCC-wide network as we consider foraying into new markets in the region. We are also looking at further customization of our winning platform to meet specific student requirements and will use this network to achieve our planned outcomes. Foundation Holdings is an important strategic partner for Toppr, and this investment testifies to its strong industry focus and unique IPO experience on regional and global indices.”
At present, the GCC region is home to around 10 million learners in the K12 segment with an additional two million learners to be added by 2025. Saudi Arabia alone constitutes over 70 percent of regional demand. According to a recent report by Boston Consulting Group, the K-12 market is expected to double over the next five years, from US$13 billion to US$26 billion by 2023. According to EdTechXGlobal, the global market for EdTech will reach $252 billion by 2020. Considering there are approximately 6 million students in Saudi Arabia alone, with many more in the region, Toppr has a vast potential to grow within the region.