Singapore-based EdTech company Cialfo, which provides access to international higher education options for students globally, has on Thursday announced it has secured $40 million in funding as part of a Series B round, led by global investment firm Square Peg, and Australian-headquartered SEEK Investments.
It also saw existing investors, including SIG Global, Vulcan Capital, DLF Venture, January Capital, and Lim Teck Lee, double-down on earlier investments, Cialfo said in a statement.
Cialfo, which is a platform that aims to transform the higher education landscape through simplifying the college application process and making education accessible to all, said that this latest funding will enable the firm to grow its user base and create more unique features for high school students, counselors, families and universities.
This latest investment brings the total raised, to date, to $57 million, including $15 million in Series A funding in February 2021.
The investment reinforces the importance of the international higher education sector, which, according to Education Data, is expected to rise to more than 7 million students by 2030, and increase in total market value from $280 billion to $400 billion.
With over 170 employees across Singapore, India, the United States and China, Cialfo will be able to utilize this funding to develop new product features later this year, which would benefit both schools and universities.
It is hoped this funding will also help enhance Cialfo’s 360 career exploration and college application offerings in direct response to feedback from educators worldwide.
Cialfo currently connects high school students, their counselors, and families with over 1,000 colleges and has achieved trusted partner status with globally-recognized universities such as Imperial College London in the UK, The University of Chicago in the United States, and IE University in Spain.
Among the enhancements planned for 2022 is Direct Apply – a game-changing tool that allows students and counselors to seamlessly apply, track, and send documents to hundreds of programs globally, using a single application form.
“We are very excited to receive this latest round of funding from Square Peg and SEEK, and we are grateful to them and to all our investors for sharing our commitment to making international higher education accessible to 100 million students. Their support will allow us to continue to expand our offerings – at scale and with speed – in ways that will better equip students, high school and universities alike for the future. We believe this ultimately will create massive and lasting value for society at large, as education is the key to our shared success,” said Cialfo Chief Exeuctive Officer and Co-Founder Rohan Pasari.
Singapore-headquartered Cialfo is a global provider of transformative technologies that empower students and schools – from K12 to university – throughout the career exploration and college search and selection process, so they can find their perfect-fit and plan for the future.
Originally formed in 2017, the company’s Co-Founders and leadership team includes Rohan Pasari (India), Stanley Chia (Singapore) and William Hund (Australia). Cialfo is a platform that aims to transform the higher education landscape through simplifying the college application process and making education accessible to all. With over 170 employees across Singapore, India, the United States and China, Cialfo connects high school students, their counselors, and families with over 1,000 colleges. It has achieved trusted partner status with globally-recognized universities such as Imperial College London in the UK, The University of Chicago in the United States, and IE University in Spain
“It is our privilege to partner with Cialfo’s Founders: Rohan Pasari, Stanley Chia and William Hund. Cialfo is a vessel to manifest the shared passion of its co-founders to transform international education for the better. It is a passion born of each founder’s personal experience, be it Rohan moving from India to Singapore for university and experiencing first-hand the friction and misaligned interests inherent in the status quo, or Stanley chasing his lifelong passion to make education more accessible,” said Tushar Roy, Partner at Square Peg Capital.
Square Peg is a global investment firm on a mission to empower exceptional founders. With teams in Singapore, Israel and Australia, Square Peg invests in emerging technology companies across the internet economy. It has over $1 billion in assets under management across multiple funds, and has invested in category-defining companies including Fiverr, Canva, PropertyGuru and Airwallex. Since 2013, Square Peg has invested over US$200m in Southeast Asia in companies including Pluang, Stashaway, DoctorAnywhere and Neuron Mobility. In 2021, it expanded into global listed equities, with the launch of the Global Tech Fund.
“SEEK Investments is proud to support the Cialfo management team as they strive to help young people around the world more directly access a high-quality international tertiary education from a range of countries,” said Josh Nester, MD Education at SEEK Investments.
SEEK Investments is a long-term investor and business builder focused on the Human Capital Management (HCM) market. It manages the SEEK Growth Fund which includes a portfolio of high-growth global HCM businesses in online education, HR SaaS and contingent labor. It also creates value through active partnering with founders and management teams to build future leaders. SEEK Investments and SEEK Limited maintain a close strategic relationship and SEEK Limited holds a substantial economic interest in the SEEK Growth Fund.
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