Classplus is a Noida-based Indian edtech company that began as a SaaS platform for coaching centres and tutors and now also owns the test-prep platform Testbook.

This Startup Deep Dive explains what Classplus does, how it makes money, who backs it, how it compares with rivals and what could go wrong, using publicly available information. It is educational and not investment advice. Last updated: October 2026.

Classplus in Brief

• What it is: Classplus is an Indian Edtech SaaS / test prep company based in Noida.
• Who it serves: businesses, institutions, consumers, learners and public-sector buyers.
• Helps teachers and coaching institutes launch online coaching through branded apps and websites and sell courses.
• Owns Testbook, a B2C test-prep platform for government job aspirants.
• Invested in GyanLive and started Polaris School of Technology in Bengaluru in 2024.
• Funding: About $159 million per CB Insights; Entrackr says over $160 million; Clay $129 million (reports differ).

Classplus Quick Facts

Figures marked “reported” come from published reports and may differ between sources; “Not disclosed” means no reliable public figure was found.

What Is Classplus?

Classplus operates in the Edtech SaaS / test prep space in India. Understanding a company like this starts with three questions: who is the customer, what painful problem is being solved, and why the solution is better than the alternatives. The sections below apply that lens to Classplus.

• Helps teachers and coaching institutes launch online coaching through branded apps and websites and sell courses.
• Owns Testbook, a B2C test-prep platform for government job aspirants.
• Invested in GyanLive and started Polaris School of Technology in Bengaluru in 2024.
• Invested Rs 50 crore with Pravega Ventures in GyanDhan, an education finance startup (June 2024).

The Origin Story of Classplus

Every company starts from a noticed gap and a team willing to commit to closing it. Strong origin stories are specific: a clear problem, a founding team with relevant skills, and an early product that real customers could test. Founder-market fit, meaning the team’s lived experience or technical depth in the domain, tends to predict how fast a young company learns.

• Founders: Mukul Rustagi, Bhaswat Agarwal.
• Founded in 2018; StartupTalky names five founders (Mukul Rustagi, Vatsal Rustagi, Bikash Dash, Nikhil Goel, Bhaswat Agarwal) while Inc42 names Mukul Rustagi and Bhaswat Agarwal (reports differ).
• Pitched itself as the Shopify of edtech.

Key Milestones and Challenges

No startup grows in a straight line. Early years usually involve slow adoption, product rewrites, hiring mistakes and funding gaps. In the Edtech SaaS / test prep sector the common turning points are a first paying customer, a regulatory approval, a successful product demonstration or a funding round that lets the team invest ahead of demand. How a team responds to setbacks says more about resilience than any single headline.

• 2020: Series A about $9 million; later tranches led by Alpha Wave Incubation and GSV Ventures.
• June 2021: $65 million Series C led by Tiger Global.
• March 2022: $70 million Series D at $600 million valuation.
• September 2022: Bought controlling stake in Testbook for Rs 67.8 crore.
• 2022: Acquired Saarthi (later disputed in court).
• 2024: Launched Polaris School of Technology.

Classplus Funding and Investors

Funding history shows how much outside confidence a company has attracted and how long it can operate before needing more capital. Figures below are reported and may differ between sources; valuation figures are estimates unless the company has confirmed them.

• 2020: Series A about $9 million, followed by about $10 million led by Alpha Wave Incubation with Blume Ventures and RTP Global.
• 2020: Series C1 about $30 million (Rs 220 crore) led by GSV Ventures.
• June 2021: $65 million Series C led by Tiger Global with GSV Ventures, Alpha Wave Incubation, Blume and RTP Global.
• March 2022: $70 million Series D co-led by Alpha Wave Global and Tiger Global, with Chimera Ventures and RTP Global.
• September 2022: Secondary transaction of $8.5 million listed by CB Insights.

How Does Classplus Make Money? (Business Model)

A business model describes who pays, how often and how much it costs to serve them. Strong models show repeat usage, improving margins with scale and acquisition channels that do not depend only on paid spend. Weak models show one-off sales, rising costs and growth that stops when spending stops. For companies selling to businesses, institutions, consumers, learners and public-sector buyers, sales cycles and contract size matter as much as headline growth.

• SaaS subscriptions from teachers at about Rs 13,000 to Rs 50,000, plus a 15% commission on course fees (as described in 2025 coverage).
• B2C test prep through Testbook with free and subscription plans.
• SaaS made up 96.6% of FY24 operating revenue in the Entrackr report; Inc42 says Testbook was about 64% of consolidated revenue in FY24 (reports differ in framing).

The Numbers: Classplus Financials

Financial figures show whether growth is turning into a self-sustaining business. Small and private companies often disclose little, so any number below is included only if it was found in public reporting.

• FY22: operating revenue about Rs 26 crore.
• FY23: operating revenue Rs 102 crore, loss Rs 256 crore.
• FY24: operating revenue Rs 213 crore, total income Rs 264 crore, loss Rs 110.4 crore, total expenses Rs 375.7 crore.
• Standalone Classplus FY24: revenue Rs 73.9 crore, loss Rs 22.7 crore (Inc42).
• No FY25 figures found.

Market Opportunity for Classplus

Market size is easy to exaggerate, so a useful approach separates the total market from the portion a company can realistically reach with its current product and distribution. The main forces behind demand in this sector are rising digital adoption, cloud and mobile penetration, growing enterprise technology spending, government digitisation programmes and a deep pool of engineering talent. Each of these widens the opportunity, but capital efficiency and execution decide who captures it.

• India's coaching and test-prep market with a push to tier II and III cities.

Technology and Product at Classplus

Technology is rarely the whole moat, but it drives speed, cost and customer experience. A practical way to assess it is to separate the capability the company controls from the commodity infrastructure it rents. In this sector the important factors are product quality, data and integration depth, security, scalability and the speed of shipping improvements.

• White-label apps and websites for teachers with tools for content, attendance and assessments.

Team and Culture at Classplus

Teams are the most important and least measurable asset of a young company. Look at how complementary the founders’ skills are, how deep the second layer of leadership is, and how the company hires and retains specialists. Culture shows up in small repeated behaviours: how quickly bad news travels upward and whether commitments to customers are kept.

• Mukul Rustagi is CEO and cofounder.

Classplus Competitors: Competitive Landscape

A fair competitive analysis names direct rivals, adjacent players who could move into the space, and the customer’s default alternative. Durable advantages include proprietary data or technology, licences and approvals, brand trust, switching costs and cost leadership.

Risks and Challenges for Classplus

• Core SaaS business has plateaued per Inc42.
• Legal disputes over acquisitions such as Saarthi and Abhinay Maths.
• Still loss-making.
• Competition: low barriers to entry and well-funded rivals can compress pricing and slow growth.
• Funding risk: technology businesses often burn cash before reaching profit and depend on investor appetite.

Risk is not a reason to avoid a company; it is a reason to price it correctly and to monitor the right indicators over time. Regulation in this sector is shaped by data protection rules under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, sector regulators, consumer protection law and IT rules.

Classplus Growth Outlook: What to Watch

• Diversifying into higher education, fintech and test prep.
• No new funding since 2022 found.
• Key indicators: recurring revenue, customer retention, gross margin, customer acquisition cost and runway.
• Funding position: Whether Classplus can reach its next milestone before needing new capital.
• Regulation: Changes from data protection rules under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, sector regulators, consumer protection law and IT rules.

Industry Context: Where Classplus Fits

India's technology startup ecosystem is one of the largest in the world, supported by cheap data, a large base of smartphone users, digital public infrastructure and a deep engineering talent pool. Companies now build for education, software, mobility, logistics, agriculture, defence, media and more, selling both to Indian customers and abroad.

Durable technology companies usually combine a clear customer problem with repeatable distribution and disciplined unit economics. Growth funded only by spending tends to fade, while products that customers keep using and paying for build compounding advantages.

For readers new to this field, a useful habit is to separate announcements from evidence. A plan, a partnership or a funding headline describes intent, while a delivered product, a paying customer or an audited financial statement describes results. Comparing the two over time shows how reliably a company turns promises into outcomes.

Bull Case and Bear Case for Classplus

An investment thesis is a short, testable statement of why a company could become far more valuable, together with what evidence would prove it wrong. The points below are general to this sector and are not forecasts for Classplus.

Bull case

• A large and growing base of digital users and businesses expands the addressable market.
• Recurring revenue and strong retention can compound growth.
• Selling into global markets widens the opportunity beyond India.

Bear case

• Heavy competition can compress pricing and margins.
• Dependence on external funding can force painful cost cuts.
• Regulation or platform changes can disrupt a product quickly.

Lessons Founders and Investors Can Take from Classplus

Studying a company in the Edtech SaaS / test prep space offers lessons that go beyond any single firm. The points below are general lessons for the sector and are not claims about Classplus.

• Solving a clear, frequent customer problem matters more than adding features.
• Retention and repeat usage are better health signals than sign-ups.
• Disciplined spending extends runway and keeps options open when funding tightens.
• Distribution, not just product quality, decides who wins in crowded markets.
• Building trust through data protection and reliability is part of the product.

How to Evaluate Classplus as a Startup

• Customer clarity: Can Classplus name its customer and the problem it solves in one sentence?
• Evidence of demand: Look for repeat customers, signed contracts or measurable usage rather than announcements alone.
• Economics: Check whether margins improve as volume grows.
• Execution: Compare announced timelines with what has actually been delivered.
• Funding runway: Estimate how long current capital lasts at the present spending rate.
• Regulatory standing: Confirm required approvals are in place.
• Customer concentration: Check whether a few customers account for most of the revenue.
• Management depth: Look for experienced leaders beyond the founders and a stable core team.

The Takeaway

Classplus is part of India’s growing Edtech SaaS / test prep ecosystem. The useful lesson from studying it is the discipline of asking structured questions about customers, economics, advantage and resilience. Companies that answer them well, repeatedly and under pressure are the ones that endure. Readers should treat any single report, ranking or funding headline as one input among many, and should re-check key facts against recent company announcements. Because public information on young companies is often limited, patience in verifying claims is part of good analysis. Public sources can also describe the same company in different ways, so it is worth checking dates, definitions and whether a figure refers to revenue, total income or transaction value, and whether it covers one entity or a wider group, before drawing conclusions. Small differences in rounding, currency conversion or reporting periods can also change how a figure reads. Comparing the same figure across several recent reports helps show whether it is stable or has changed over time. This article is educational and is not investment advice.

• Clear customers and repeat demand matter more than announcements.
• Regulation and capital needs shape how fast a startup in this sector can grow.
• Track a few leading indicators over time rather than one headline metric.

Classplus FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions

What is Classplus?

Classplus is a Noida-based Indian edtech company that began as a SaaS platform for coaching centres and tutors and now also owns the test-prep platform Testbook. It is profiled in the Startup Deep Dive series, which explains business model, funding, competitors and risks.

Who founded Classplus?

Classplus was founded by Mukul Rustagi, Bhaswat Agarwal, and the company reports a founding year of 2018.

How much funding has Classplus raised?

About $159 million per CB Insights; Entrackr says over $160 million; Clay $129 million (reports differ). Funding figures are reported and may differ between sources, so readers should check the latest company announcements.

How does Classplus make money?

Classplus earns revenue from its Edtech SaaS / test prep products and services sold to businesses, institutions, consumers, learners and public-sector buyers. The exact revenue mix is described in the business model section and is not fully disclosed publicly.

Who are the competitors of Classplus?

Reported rivals include Teachmint, Proctur, eduZilla, SkoolApp. See the competitor comparison above for how they differ.

What are the main risks for Classplus?

Main risks include competition: low barriers to entry and well-funded rivals can compress pricing and slow growth, funding and capital needs, competition and regulation by data protection rules under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, sector regulators, consumer protection law and IT rules. This is educational content, not investment advice.

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Source

Source: Publicly available data, published reports, industry research, and other credible sources.