Zenius Receives Follow on Funding from MDI Ventures

Zenius edtech startup today (7/3) announced follow on funding from MDI Ventures with an undisclosed amount. In total, Zenius is said to have raised over $40 million (more than 576 billion Rupiah) from its investors. Past investors (Northstar Group, Alpha JWC Ventures, Openspace Ventures) and new investor (Beacon Venture Capital as a venture capital company owned by Kasikorn Bank Thailand) also joined the round.

It is not clear whether this fresh money will classified into a new round or continue the Pre-Series B round last year.

In an official statement, Zenius' CEO, Rohan Monga said this funding will support the company's further development and expansion of the learning ecosystem Zenius will be focused on improving personalized learning experiences by increasing students' learning motivation.

“Through our latest acquisition network, Primagama, we will expand reach to increase the impact we have in education. We strongly believe that a hybrid learning model, which is a combination of offline and online, will provide the best results for students,” Monga said.

He said, backed by strategic investors such as MDI Ventures, the company is capable to expand its network of partnerships and service distribution to have a bigger and deeper impact on Indonesian education.

“Zenius has a proven track record of making an educational impact in Indonesia. Was founded in 2004, Zenius has now developed a comprehensive learning ecosystem,” MDI Ventures' CEO, Donald Wihardja said.

Since 2004, Zenius has helped more than 1.5 million alumni to get into their state/dream university. Last year, seven out of 10 Zenius' premium users passed the Computer-Based Written Examination (UTBK), while Zenius' income increased fourfold, one of which was due to "Live Class" feature.

Following the Primagama acquisition, Zenius completed its learning ecosystem by collaborating with Disney for the elementary school segment, as well as developing ZenPro, a platform for the professional or lifelong learning segment.

“Zenius is a collaborative player. We are confident to realize our mission in creating a smarter, brighter, and cooler Indonesia's young generation through collaboration, partnership, and synergy with various stakeholders, such as MDI, with the same vision, advancing education in Indonesia," Rohan said.

Market competition and value proposition

Indonesia's edtech sector is rapidly growing, especially since the pandemic. There are two players currently dominating the market, Ruangguru and Zenius, with nearly similar sub-product variants.

Zenius always highlight one thing, it is on the material side. Instead of inviting students to just memorize, Zenius emphasized on understanding fundamental concepts and critical thinking through various case studies.

Apart from Zenius and Ruangguru, several edtech platforms also creating maneuvers. Most recently, CoLearn has just secured 244 billion Series A funding. The app focuses on math and science subjects, helping students solve their homework independently. Also, there are Pahamify, Squline, and others.

Primagama's presence in Zenius' line of business has the potential to strengthen its value proposition if it truly succeeds in wrapping up a hybrid learning experience – this could also be the first in Indonesia.

–Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian