Bengaluru-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform Toddle, which serves the Indian edtech sector, has raised $17 million in a Series A funding round led by Sequoia Capital India. The investment round saw the participation of Trifecta Capital and Tenacity Ventures.

Existing investors like Matrix Partner, Beenext and Better Capital also joined. 

The company will utilise the capital in product development. Additionally, it plans to hire 70 to 80 skilled staff within five months. 

“A significant part of this (the fund raised) would be used in product development and furthering the growth initiative. So far, we have focused on content, design, and community initiatives. Going forward, we intend to double down on that as well as start experimenting with go-to-market efforts,” Deepanshu Arora, the co-founder and the chief executive officer (CEO), said. 

“We are focused on the absolute top echelons of the school ecosystem and therefore, we feel this is an all-weather business,” he added. 

The funding came at a time when the Indian edtech sector has been struggling to generate funds at a proper valuation. Last year, major unicorns like Unacademy and Vedantu were seen to cut down their employee bandwidth to keep the business on the profitability track. This year, Harappa, an upGrad-owned company, laid off nearly 60 employees to combat the economic downturn. 

Against this backdrop, it is now to be seen whether this funding can help the start-up turn around the picture.