Study abroad platform Leap to accelerate global expansion with $65 mn funding

Leap, a startup that helps students study abroad, plans to double down on its international expansion, including through acquisitions, following a $65 million fundraise led by Apis Partners Group (UK) Ltd, according to a top executive.

About 80% of the capital raised in this round is from new investors, including Apis Growth Markets Fund III and Apis Global Growth Fund III, according to the company. Avendus Capital acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Leap and its shareholders on this transaction, the company said.

Leap will use the money to enter China, Malaysia and Taiwan, in addition to building a deeper presence in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, West Asia, and Southeast Asian.

“We are present in 11 countries, including India, and our focus is on deepening our presence in these markets due to strong demand,” co-founder Arnav Kumar told Mint. “We are also expanding into newer markets like Taiwan, China, and Malaysia, which is one of the key reasons for raising this round of funding.”

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This funding comes nearly 30 months after Leap last raised $75 million in its Series D round in June 2022. Kumar did not disclose the startup’s current valuation, but in its previous round, it was valued at $850-900 million.

Leap also plans to acquire companies for its expansion, especially in China and India.

“We have some dry powder for any acquisition opportunities that come our way. We are seeing consolidation across industries, especially leveraging AI and data,” Kumar said. “India remains a large geography, and China is also a significant market. A scale-up solution in these regions would be of interest.”

‘Not a trivial adjacency’

Kumar is keen on building Leap’s tech capability—another area of focus post the fundraise.

“We are also excited about companies building innovative products using the latest technological advances, we remain open to opportunities across all geographies for that,” Kumar said. “One focus is doubling down on product innovation, leveraging AI to continually reduce information search costs for students.”

With this, Leap plans to expand its offerings to include law and medicine. 

Founded in 2019 by Vaibhav Singh and Kumar, Leap offers test prep apps for IELTS, TOEFL, SAT; admissions and visa counseling, as well as financial offerings through LeapScholar, LeapFinance, and Yocket, and value-added services like accommodation. It also assists with international bank accounts, credit cards, and money remittance.

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Value-added services contribute about 10% to Leap’s revenue mix, while the majority comes from counseling and financing. Of the two, counseling generates slightly more revenue than financing, Kumar said.

So far, Leap has raised over $200 million in equity from Jungle Ventures, Owl Ventures, and Peak XV Partners. These investors also participated in the current funding round.

Leap's latest fundraise comes at a time when studying abroad has gained interest from several edtech companies as an additional adjacency, increasing competition in the segment. However, Kumar is unfazed.

“This is a complex segment where you must focus and get a hundred things right. This is not a trivial adjacency that anyone can just enter—it requires a lot of innovative thinking,” Kumar said. “While competition is good for pushing companies to build better products, I haven’t seen anything yet that makes me paranoid. Some players are making small, nascent attempts, but we don’t see any impact on our business.”

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