Ed-tech startup AdmitKard has raised $1 million (approximately Rs 7.15 crore at current exchange rates) from a clutch of investors, the company said in a statement.
The funding was led by the Australia-based ed-tech fund Growth DNA and Dheeraj Bhatia, the founder of Kips Learning, a professional computer education firm.
AdmitKard co-founder Rachit Agrawal said the company will use the funds for expansion across the country apart from building its technological and product capabilities. The startup runs on a freemium model, with its vanilla services being made available to any student. Educational institutions also pay the company a royalty fee for promotion and marketing, he added.
AdmitKard, which is operated by Pineyards Solutions Pvt. Ltd, was co-founded by Rachit Agrawal and Piyush Bhartiya in 2016. Agrawal, an alumnus of Indian IIT Allahabad, has previously worked with Microsoft and Adobe. Bhartiya is an alumnus of IIT Roorkee, and has previously been associated with the Boston Consulting Group.
The Noida-based startup helps students select and apply for higher education abroad. For instance, it asks candidates to build a profile on their platform, and then connects them with a student who is already studying the same course in their preferred choice of country. Following the discussions between the two, AdmitKard then helps candidates with their application.
Deals in the ed-tech segment
The online learning and ed-tech segment has attracted considerable investor interest of late.
The valuation of ed-tech firm Byju’s crossed $5 billion after it raised $31.3 million in a funding round in March led by existing investors General Atlantic and Tencent Holdings Ltd.
In December last year, Byju’s announced that it had secured $540 million (Rs 3,855 crore then) in a round led by South African tech conglomerate Naspers.
In June, ed-tech platform for competitive exams Unacademy raised $50 million (Rs 346 crore) in a Series D funding round from Steadview Capital, Sequoia Capital India, Nexus Venture Partners, Blume Ventures and others. The startup said it will use the fresh capital to onboard more educators and fuel growth across multiple exam categories.
