Matrix-backed Toddle raises $17 million to empower educators around the world

Toddle's mission is to amplify teaching for millions of K-12 educators globally and to support them in delivering meaningful learning experiences. The platform is currently used by 40,000+ educators at 1,500+ schools in 100+ countries.

10th January 2023, Bangalore:Toddle, a teaching & learning platform used by schools worldwide, announced that it has raised $17 million in Series A led by Sequoia Capital India. The round also saw participation from Tenacity Ventures and Trifecta Capital along with existing investors Matrix Partners, Beenext, and Better Capital.

Toddle was founded in 2019 by a team of educators - Deepanshu Arora, Gautam Arora, Misbah Jafary, Nikhil Poonawala, and Parita Parekh. Before starting Toddle, the founders established a network of international preschools and worked with K-12 schools. They decided to build Toddle because they observed extreme unhappiness amongst teachers with the technology tools they were using - teachers either had to use very clunky, legacy LMS solutions or had to spend a lot of time navigating disconnected tools that didn't talk to each other.

Deepanshu Arora, Co-founder and CEO of Toddle said "Being educators ourselves, we understand how complex a job teaching is. Toddle originally started as a passion project - as teachers, we were using 5 different tools to manage our work and it was a really painful experience. We wanted to build something that will make our lives simple. It's really satisfying to see what started as a passion project is now being used by 40,000+ educators at 1,500+ schools in 100+ countries. While most companies are trying to improve education by working outside the school system, we think the real opportunity lies in helping our schools become better.'

In its current version, the Toddle platform does two things: it helps teaching teams improve collaboration for day-to-day work and it allows educators around the world to share teaching & learning resources with each other. With Covid accelerating technology adoption in schools across the globe, the global market for school software is projected to reach USD 30 billion by 2030 and presents a massive opportunity for companies like Toddle.

Toddle initially started with a focus on IB schools and has managed to develop a strong foothold in the market - today, more than 20% of IB schools globally use Toddle including in countries like the USA, UK, Australia, China, and UAE. The company has recently expanded its product offering to other international curricula such as Cambridge, British, and American, and will soon be launching a product for preschools.

"Software is transforming every industry including education. The Toddle founders' passion for education is palpable and has grown on us in the several years that we have known them. They have poured this passion into building a product which is widely loved by educators around the world. Their school-led approach is refreshing and we are thrilled to partner with them in their quest to transform teaching and learning,' commented Ashish Agrawal, Managing Director, Sequoia India.

"In a short period of time the Toddle team has built a world-leading product that is loved by educators and students alike. Their rapid growth, and best-in-class customer experience and business metrics, are testament to the quality of their execution. We are confident that they will be able to achieve their vision of building a globally important education company, and are delighted to join the journey and fortunate to be able to support the Toddle team in this endeavour,' said Gourav Bhattacharya of Tenacity Ventures.

"Toddle truly checks all the boxes for our favorite companies: unique, mission-driven, and from India for the world. We are proud to be early supporters of Deepanshu and the team and hope to help build a legendary company in the global Edtech space," commented Dirk van Quaquebeke, Managing Partner, Beenext

"Toddle capitalised on an incredible opportunity to re-imagine school software & built the world's only teacher-first platform that is loved by teachers, students, parents and school administrators across global markets. We've been Day 0 believers in the vision & are excited to continue to invest in this team along with a stellar group of new investor partners', said Vaibhav Domkundwar of Better Capital.

"Toddle continues to be a shining light for EdTech businesses, particularly in India. Having a ringside view since their early days, we continue to love their relentless focus on building world-class products and consistent execution '“ resulting in strong ARR growth and close to zero churn in their business. We welcome the new investors to this partnership and are excited to double down on our investment in Toddle', commented Rajat Agarwal, Managing Director, Matrix India

About Toddle:
Toddle is an Education SaaS startup on a mission to help teachers do their best work. Their first product is a teaching and learning platform used by independent schools offering IB, UbD, Cambridge, British, and other progressive curricula. The Toddle platform is now used by 40,000+ educators from 1,500+ schools in 100+ countries. Toddle is founded by Deepanshu Arora, Gautam Arora, Misbah Jafary, Nikhil Poonawala, and Parita Parekh.

About Matrix Partners:
Founded in 2006, Matrix India invests in companies targeting the Indian consumer and enterprise market at the seed, early, and early growth stages. The firm has invested in several market-leading companies such as Ola (mobility), Dailyhunt (mobile local language platform), Razorpay (payments), OfBusiness (B2B Commerce, fintech), Five Star Business Finance (SME lending), Ola Electric (electric vehicles), DealShare (social commerce platform), Stanza Living (tech-enabled student housing platform), OneCard (mobile-first credit card), Country Delight (D2C dairy & fresh foods brand), GoKwik (e-commerce enablement platform), Captain Fresh (seafood marketplace), Bijnis (B2B platform for factories), Jupiter (consumer neobank), Mswipe (mobile POS), Zupee (leading skill-based gaming app), and Oxyzo (a tech-enabled smart financing solution provider) among others.

Matrix India has advisory offices in Bangalore, Delhi, and Mumbai. Matrix Partners has a global network of funds investing in the US, China, and India, with approximately $5 billion under management. Further information is available at www.matrixpartners.in. To know more about our investment philosophy & ideologies, check out the #MatrixMoments podcast series.

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