ASL, a study-abroad platform that owns the UniAcco, UniCreds and UniScholars brands, has raised a bridge equity round $5 million led by new investor Cornerstone Ventures (CSVP Fund) and existing investors as a bridge to its proposed Series B round of $20 million.

ASL is a unified student lifecycle management platform assisting students in their application-to-accommodation journey with a digital-first approach.

The international student education market is estimated at $200 billion primarily dominated by tuition fees (~40 per cent) and accommodation (~25 per cent) as the largest categories. Globally, over 6-7 million students travel abroad for higher studies, said the company.

UniScholars has reportedly placed students in more than 100 universities worldwide, providing counselling and support services throughout the admissions process. UniCreds, an extended arm of UniScholars, has facilitated over $100 million in education loans through banking and NBFC (non banking financial company) partners, ensuring that financing is not a barrier to academic success. 

UniAcco, the other extended arm of UniScholars, offers the largest inventory of over 3.5 million student accommodation beds in the UK, EU, Canada and Australia working with property owners and managers to provide safe, comfortable and affordable accommodation options to students. 

The new investment will be used to strengthen its position and build deeper partnerships in key geographies of the UK, EU, Canada, Australia, and USA. 

"Despite the economic challenges brought on by COVID-19, when many of our peers were struggling for survival, our business soared through the market turbulence and achieved an impressive 300 per cent y-o-y growth since then. We will continue to unify student journeys on our platform and strengthen our product portfolio across geographies," said Amit Singh, founder and CEO of ASL.

"In a time of market uncertainty, our existing and new investors have placed huge trust in us. We are committed to leveraging the funds received towards providing a seamless experience to students by evolving with their changing needs. Our primary focus will now be profitability and organic growth for all three brands," added Sayantan Biswas, co-founder of ASL.

“We love the execution capability and student-first approach of the founding team. It’s the only platform that has truly and successfully unified the entire student lifecycle right from application to accommodation and beyond at every step. Its hyper-personalised approach ensures that a student remains on the platform throughout its educational journey of 4-5 years and potentially expands into their early career as well. Its enterprise pricing model, recurring revenues and profitable unit economics excited us to be a part of their journey!” observed Vatsal Bavishi, Investment Director, Cornerstone Ventures.