Hyderabad-based edtech startup NxtWave on Tuesday said it has raised $33 million in a Series A funding round, led by private equity firm Greater Pacific Capital (GPC).
Existing venture investor Orios Venture Partners also participated in the current round.
NxtWave, founded in 2020 by IIT Bombay, IIT Kharagpur and IIIT Hyderabad alumni Sashank Reddy Gujjula, Anupam Pedarla and Rahul Attuluri, offers online cohort-based training programmes for college students, graduates and early professionals.
Valuation of the company could not be immediately ascertained.
The latest round comes about 14 months after NxtWave raised $2.8 million pre-Series A funding led by Orios Venture Partners and Better Capital in December 2021.
The company aims to use the funds to invest in product and content, it said in a statement. Further, the company plans to expand geographically in the country, and look for inorganic modes of growth.
“Making India a powerhouse of technologies starts with upskilling our youth. Together, we’ll bring employment-focused education to India’s youth,” Attuluri, co-founder and chief executive, NxtWave, said in a statement.
It is trying to bridge the gap between industry and academia by offering industry-relevant courses to students, an issue the businesses often struggle with in the country. So far, over the last couple of years, more than 1,250 companies have hired NxtWave’s candidates, the statement further noted.
“As the country positions itself as one of the leaders of the information era, the country needs to build the capacity to provide quality learning, particularly in artificial intelligence, for 500 million young Indians,” said Nandan Desai, managing director and co-head of India for GPC.
Desai will join NxtWave’s Board as part of the transaction.
“Leveraging technology to fill this gap is the key to unlocking India's economic potential and providing quality employment to its youth, which NxtWave is doing,” he added.
Avendus Capital acted as the exclusive financial adviser to NxtWave on the transaction.
The deal is GPC’s fourth investment from its fourth fund. The London-headquartered firm also previously invested in energy efficiency solution provider Enzen Global Solutions, software-as-a-service platform Near Pte. and microfinance institution Muthoot Microfin.
The fundraise comes amid a broader slowdown in the edtech sector. Companies in the sector, including unicorns have resorted to layoffs to cut costs impacting thousands of employees in the sector.
Tiger Global-backed Byju's said in October it plans to lay off over 2,500 employees. Earlier, this month, the number grew even further, as the company fired another 1,500 employees. SoftBank-backed edtech unicorn Unacademy, which has also cut more than a 1,000 jobs in 2022, has decided not to offer cash appraisals to employees this year as it focuses on profitability.
