In a series of tweets, former cricketer Sourav Ganguly announced that he teamed up with edtech startup
and launched a new initiative to promote educators, teachers, and educational content creators.Called ‘#dadasupports’, the initiative allows educators and content creators to create a video ad and submit it on the Classplus platform. On submission, the ad would then feature Ganguly, the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), as their brand ambassador.
“It is time to glorify the true heroes,” he tweeted. “I want to do something for all the coaches, educators, and teachers across the world. Starting today, I will actively work to support all of them by being their ambassador,” he added.
In January 2021, Sourav Ganguly starred in a campaign for Classplus as ‘Mentor Dada’. The campaign encompassed the challenges faced by teachers who struggle to keep up with the digital age.
Started in 2018 by Mukul Rustagi and Bhaswat Agarwal, Noida-based Classplus is a mobile-first SaaS (software-as-a-service) platform that enables private coaching institutes and their tutors to streamline their content distribution, payments, communication, and online assessments through the app.
In March 2022, the edtech startup had raised $70 million in a Series D round co-led by Alpha Wave Global and Tiger Global Management, which put Classplus at a valuation of $570 million.
“We’ve come a long way to become the category leaders since we started back in 2018. But one thing that hasn’t changed in the last four years is our commitment towards changing the lives of millions of educators and their student base through technology. We’re fortunate and humbled to have the trust and blessings of thousands of educators, our teammates and our investors along the way. We invite everyone who feels the same to come and be a part of this amazing clan,” Mukul Rustagi, CEO and Co-founder, Classplus said at the time of the funding.
The startup had raised $65 million in a Series C round led by Tiger Global in June 2021.