Temasek in talks to lead Unacademy’s $400 million round

After roping in a slew of investors including social networking giant Facebook and Japan’s SoftBank Vision Fund last year, education technology startup Unacademy is in advanced discussions to get Temasek as a backer for its new round of fundraising. 

Unacademy kicked off its campaign with a plan to mop up $300-400 million as it looks to build a war chest for acquisitions and further growth, said two people directly briefed on the matter. 

The new round of funding pegs the pre-money valuation of Unacademy at around $3.2 billion, they said. The final valuation of the six-year-old company could go above $3.5 billion post-money, depending on the capital raised. 

That would be an increase of 60-75% in post-money valuation in less than six months. Unacademy was valued at close to $2 billion in November when it raised funding from US-based investment firms Tiger Global Management and Dragoneer Investment Group. 

“Temasek is likely to come in as one of the lead investors while existing backers are also likely to invest a significant amount. They have signed a term sheet,” said one of the sources. “There is a conversation going on with other new investors as well to participate in the round.” 

Edtech startups are on an accelerated growth path with the onset of a new academic year and a fresh set of lockdowns to contain the second wave of the pandemic. Investor interest in the space remains high, along with a broader fundraising boom in India’s startup ecosystem. And the valuations are getting richer.