Edtech startup Cakap snags US$10m from Centauri Fund, Heritas Capital

INDONESIA-BASED education technology platform Cakap raised US$10 million in funding led by MDI Ventures' Centauri Fund and Heritas Capital, as more turn to online platforms for learning in South-east Asia amid school closures during the pandemic.

Centauri Fund is a growth-stage fund jointly launched by the venture capital arm of Telkom Indonesia and a unit of South Korea's KB Financial Group.

The Series B round, which also saw the participation of KB Investment and other undisclosed investors, closed on a "strong year" said the edtech startup in a statement on Thursday (Dec 9).

Fresh funds will be used to advance its technology through machine learning and artificial intelligence to "provide localised and personalised learning in accelerating students' learning progress", said Tomy Yunus, Cakap's co-founder and chief executive.

Formerly known as Squline, the startup develops online learning applications for users to learn languages and vocational skills, using video calls and text conversations to facilitate interactions. It has 1,000 teachers across the platform.

Cakap, which said it is profitable, has 1.5 million students on its platform. The edtech platform added that it has a 500 per cent year-on-year growth for active students, although it did not specify the base number.

While schools shift back offline as the pandemic eases, Indonesia's education ministry said edtech will supplement schools to transform the country's education into a digital platform.

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