Delhi-based edtech startup Gurucool has raised $150,000 (around Rs 1 crore) in a Pre-Seed round led by angel investor Parvez Jasani, chief executive officer of Zulie Venture Inc; and startup incubator FreeFlow Venture Builders, the company said.
It plans to utilise the funds to build a strong team, invest in strengthening its technology platform, and expand its business in India and abroad.
Founded in 2019 by Sheikh Adil Meraj and Khansa Fahad, Gurucool is an educational networking platform that offers a suite of tools to connect learners and educators. It aims to empower schools and colleges to go online and build their digital infrastructure to enable learners to find, connect and learn from them. Currently, it offers more than 25 tools, the company added in its statement.
"Being an educational networking platform enables Gurucool to be a publisher, teaching platform, marketplace and aggregator, all at the same time. Gurucool has bridged the digital divide and brought all stakeholders in one phygital world," said Meraj.
The startup said that it plans to launch the Padhaai India tool, in collaboration with some selected state governments to make quality education free and hyperlocal.
According to the company, Gurucool, in association with the Bihar government's department of higher education, is digitising college campuses and they are in process of signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) after completion of the pilot. It claims to have curated more than 3000 courses in eight regional languages under Padhaai India.
FreeFlow Venture Builders is a start-up incubator and accelerator founded by Suraj Juneja and Aaquib Hussain. It is a nationally accredited partner of Invest India, and was among the primary partners and facilitators at the Startup India Yatra in 21 states.
However, Parvez Jasani is the CEO of Zulie Venture which is marketed as CellPay. It provides a fast and secure mode of payment. The company was ranked the fifth fastest-growing company in America by Inc. 5000.
The edtech market in India has witnessed hyperactive funding activity since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic last year. Earlier this month, Hyderabad-based NxtWave raised $2.8 million (around Rs) pre-Series A funding led by Orios Venture Partners and Better Capital.
Last month, Edvizo raised $150,000 (approximately Rs 1.13 crore) in an angel funding round from ah! Ventures.
In October, Vernacular edtech platform Vidyakul raised an undisclosed sum in a financing round from Dholakia Ventures and other angel investors. Similarly, Bengaluru-based ForeignAdmits raised Rs 3.5 crore in a seed funding round led by Unicorn India Ventures.
