BENGALURU: Prominent investors-backed edtech company Classplus is facing a lawsuit in the Delhi HC and also a criminal complaint, filed by Saarthi founder Chirag Kapil and investors. Classplus founders have been accused of cheating, criminal breach of trust, and defamation, among others.
Edtech start-up Saarthi claims they have been duped by Classplus, which acquired Saarthi in November 2021. They say there was no progress after the acquisition announcement.
A person familiar with the matter told this newspaper there is a lot of number forging internally at Classplus, which has resulted in practices like these. “It is highly unprofessional at Classplus’ end to give false assurances to the acquired team and investors. The gravity of Classplus conduct has left Saarthi with no recourse but to take resolute action,” a source close to Saarthi Techpro said.
Vinod Sood ( first investor of OYO ), Axilor, Paras Batra and Ayush Banka ( Serial entrepreneurs and founders of Leaf), Ritesh Malik, and Rahul Dalmia (Polygon), among other prominent investors, have invested in Saarthi. Sources said apart from Saarthi, many more stories from the ed-tech space might come out soon. Though both companies signed documents in March 2022, slowly everything started to go downhill and the whole Saarthi team had to go through hardships.
Paras Batra, co-founder at Leaf and one of the investors of Saarthi, said, “It’s appalling and unacceptable that Classplus has failed to honour its commitments to us investors. After numerous attempts to reach out, we’ve been met with nothing but silence, no money, and no settlement. This isn’t just a breach of contract; it’s a breach of trust, and it carries the stench of deliberate deception.” He added that they will take necessary steps to ensure justice is served. “We believe the ongoing proceedings in the Delhi HC will serve as a window of transparency, taking out the dirt from India’s ed-tech system,” the source close to Saarthi Techpro added.
In a statement, Classplus said, "Saarthi was a pre-revenue company when we conducted the deal. Both founders of the company got cash payouts from Classplus on day one of their journey with us. Chirag left in Aug 2022 while, Saransh, the other co-founder, stayed for more than a year, till May 2023. There is no merit in the allegations made against us due to the same reasons and facts."
One of the biggest investors in Saarthi is Kris Gopalakrishnan's Axilor Ventures. He told TNIE, "I am not aware of any complaint by Axilor against Classplus."