Cloud-based online education startup Aurus raises funding from Indian Angel Network

Aurus Network Infotech Pvt. Ltd., a cloud-based SaaS solutions company for lecture capturing and publishing, has raised an undisclosed amount from Indian Angel Network (IAN). The round saw the participation of IAN members Padmaja Ruparel, Saumya Meattle, Sharad Sharma and Ajai Chowdhry.

The funds raised will be used in developing a better R&D centre and ramping up the sales and marketing team. Speaking to Techcircle.in, Piyush Agarwal, founder and CEO of Aurus Network said, "Right now we are a team of 10, but intend to take up the number to 15-20, recruiting from premium institutes like IITs and NITs."

Saumya Meattle and Sharad Sharma have joined Aurus's board.

"Our focus is on increasing the quality of teaching and learning via an integrated cloud-based platform, thereby contributing towards an enhanced educational landscape in the country. IAN investments will help us scale our business, accelerate growth, develop our products and expand our technology," Agarwal said.

The company is also planning to expand its operations globally, starting with Africa. Targeting the education institutes and enterprises, the company is helping its clients impart education online even to remote centres in Tier 3 and Tier 4 cities.

Aurus Network was founded by Piyush Agarwal in 2010. An alumnus of IIT Kanpur and Stanford University, US,  Agarwal has previously worked with Yahoo!.

A cloud-based platform for video creation, management and distribution in the educational space, Aurus can work in any Internet connection with speed ranging from 75 kbps-2 mbps. "A slow network doesn't really compromise the video quality," Agarwal said.

The company, which started with a seed amount of Rs 10,000, is already profitable and is targeting revenue of Rs 1.5 crore in FY13. "We clocked revenue of Rs 60 lakh in FY12," Agarwal said.

On the investment in Aurus, Meattle said, "We found exceptional entrepreneurs with high passion and energy to create a company which will provide a paradigm shift for education companies to scale up. Aurus Network has a well thought through scalable strategy along with a high execution focus."

Sharma, said, "Education is vital to a sustainable, social and economic progress and IAN strongly believes high-quality affordable education will drive this. Aurus Network strikes at the heart of this with its cloud-based platforms, enhancing the teaching-learning methodology. We are confident that Aurus Networks will set new benchmarks in the distance learning space with its new and innovative service offerings".

(Edited by Prem Udayabhanu)