PlanetSpark, a Gurugram based gamified learning solutions startup, has raised Rs 1.6 crore from FIITJEE Ltd, the test preparation company backed by Matrix Partners India. The startup will use the funds raised to grow its technology enabled tuition centers from 200 to 750 across Delhi-NCR, said a statement.
Founded in 2016 by former executives UrbanClap and Hindustan Unilever executives Kunal Malik and Manish Dhooper, PlanetSpark trains teachers to conduct tuitions at home using its gamified learning tools and supplementary content for students from KG to 7th standard. The platform works through a network of homemakers who train to be teachers on the platform and run tuitions from home using a blended learning approach through face to face classrooms, mobile based learning games, educational cartoons, learning activity boxes, workbooks and board games.
“We are clear that the future of early and primary education lies in a blended approach to learning where one combines face-to-face teaching with technology. It is a known fact that purely online “learning apps” don’t work as one cannot eliminate the human element of a teacher, especially for younger kids. At the same time, just face to face learning models are neither scalable nor make the learning process fun and gamified using Tech. Hence the sweet spot lies in blended learning,” Dhooper said in the statement.
The company will also expand the current round of investment to add subjects beyond English and Mathematics to its products.
The ed-tech sector has seen multiple deals over the year, notable among them being Byju’s valuation at $ 2 billion as part of its last round of funding. Similar test-preparation and learning platforms such as Toppr and Unacademy have drawn investor interest.
However the challenges for scaling edtech platforms and finding a market niche has kept investors ‘cautiously optimistic.’