Grasper Global Pvt. Ltd, which operates the direct-to-consumer (D2C) global brand for educational games, Skillmatics, Tuesday said it has raised $16 million (around Rs 124 crore) in a series B funding round led by Belgian investment company, Sofina.
Existing investors Sequoia Capital India and Jalaj Dani Family Office also participated in this funding round.
The Mumbai-based startup plans to deploy the fresh funds to strengthen its presence in the US along with other overseas markets, expand the brand's product offerings to new age groups and make strategic acquisitions in adjacent categories.
Founded in 2017 by Dhvanil Sheth and Devanshi Kejriwal, Skillmatics develops educational games and learning resources that build core skills in children through play. It is currently present across 15 countries with a primary focus on North America. So far, Skillmatics claims to have sold over 50 lakh units of its products across over 10,000 retail locations.
In June 2021, Skillmatics raised $6 million (about Rs 44 crore) in a Series A funding round led by Sequoia Capital. In 2019, the startup raised $1.8 million in a seed round led by Sequoia India’s Surge program, the accelerator and incubator programme of Sequoia Capital.
“Parents today want to provide their children with meaningful play experiences that drive social interaction and build formative skills. This fundraise gives us the fuel to build new capabilities, grow our team across our offices in the US and India, expand our reach, and take us one step closer to building an iconic brand that is loved by families around the world,” said Dhvanil Sheth, founder and CEO of Skillmatics.
Notably, Skillmatics was also recognized as the Global SMB of the Year, 2021 at the Amazon Smbhav Awards.
“We have built a rapid and iterative product development engine that is 5 times faster than incumbents and has a highly data-driven approach to product design. We are excited to leverage this process to launch new products across a wider range of categories,” said Devanshi Kejriwal, co-founder and creative director of Skillmatics.
