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Singapore-based edutech startup Sedifly has raised a “3x oversubscribed six-figure pre-seed round” from angel investors, including serial entrepreneurs and multinational corporation C-suite executives. The company, which aims to “democratise access to world-class college education”, also received an equity-free grant from Enterprise Singapore under the endorsement of Pollinate, a joint incubator comprising Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic, Temasek Polytechnic, and the Institute of Technical Education. With the fresh capital, Sedifly plans to expand its product capabilities, enhance AI-driven personalisation, and enter key markets. Sedifly helps students worldwide secure admissions to their dream universities in the US and UK through a holistic ecosystem combining academic enrichment, extracurricular guidance, and mentorship for essays and interviews. “Getting into college is increasingly competitive; Ivy League acceptance rates have dwindled by more than five times over the past three decades,” said Joash Lee, founder and CEO of Sedifly. “We’ve seen many educational consulting firms step in to guide students, but the prices they charge are pure ludicrous, running into the millions. As the world’s first value-driven educational consulting firm, we aim to make things more accessible.” Since launching earlier this year, the firm claims to have experienced rapid traction. It has onboarded its first cohort of students and has hundreds more on its waitlist. The company achieved profitability within its first month through a community-led growth model and now boasts a 20-member team and multiple institutional partnerships in progress. Though a young entrant, Sedifly claims to have guided students to top-tier universities like Harvard, Stanford, and Oxbridge. “I’ve had a full circle journey with educational consulting, first as a student, then employee, and now as a founder,” said Lee. “Interacting with thousands of students made me realise the problems in the space and want to build something that not only does ‘well,’ but ‘good’ too. Sedifly’s mission is to make educational consulting more affordable and transparent.” Sedifly also announced that Daniel Ding (a real estate veteran with nearly 25 years of experience and over US$4 billion in investments) and Jessie Lim (who is the Regional CFO of a European-listed company managing over US$2 billion in revenue and 140,000 employees) will join its board to support its next stage of growth. Their combined expertise will strengthen Sedifly’s expansion, governance, and strategic growth initiatives.
