Analytics trainer Jigsaw Academy gets $3M from Manipal Global Education

Jigsaw Academy Education Pvt Ltd, which runs an e-learning portal for data analytics courses, has received Rs 20 crore ($3 million) in Series A funding from Manipal Global Education Services (MaGE).

MaGE chairman TV Mohandas Pai, a former director of IT services major Infosys, has also put money in his personal capacity, Jigsaw said in a press statement. He will be joining Jigsaw's board.

The Bangalore-based startup will use the capital secured to expand its product portfolio and penetrate new markets.

"We believe there is great potential in the analytics and big data training market in India and abroad. This funding that we have received will help us take bigger steps in the global market more aggressively while opening up more corporate training opportunities," said Gaurav Vohra, co-founder and CEO, Jigsaw Academy.

The company was founded by Vohra and Sarita Digumarti (COO) in 2011. It offers courses in data analytics and big data for working professionals and students. The company claims to have trained about 40,000 students from 30 countries in the past five years. It also offers courses in retail, e-commerce, human resources and supply chain.

Jigsaw Academy competes with established online training companies such as Coursera, Udacity and LinkedIn's Lynda.

MaGE, which is part of Bangalore-headquartered Manipal Global, provides vocational training, corporate training and courses around technology-driven services such as testing and education delivery. Manipal Global also operates university campuses in Malaysia, Antigua, Dubai and Nepal.

"At MaGE, professional certification is the next big foray for us and this investment is a significant step in that journey," said S Vaitheeswaran, MD and CEO, MaGE.

India's ed-tech space encompasses businesses involved in e-learning, test preparation, skill training and support services. Investors have pumped over $95 million in 20 early-stage deals in this segment so far this financial year, according to VCCEdge, the data research platform of VCCircle.

According to Dave Richards, managing partner at Unitus Seed Fund, ed-tech or gaming could create the next unicorn – a company valued at $1 billion – from India

Chennai-based LearnOn Technology Solutions LLP, an ed-tech startup that operates a cloud-based learning platform for K-12 schools, recently raised an undisclosed amount in seed funding from IT services company JMR Infotech India Pvt Ltd.

Last week, Techcircle.in reported that New Delhi-based Eckovation Solutions Pvt Ltd, which runs a social learning platform for students, had raised an undisclosed amount in angel funding from Chandigarh Angel Network (CAN).

Prozo.com, an online marketplace for buying and selling study material, secured seed funding of $205,000 (Rs 1.37 crore) from a group of investors three months ago. US-based Coursera Inc, an education technology company that partners with universities to offer courses online, recently secured $49.5 million in the first closing of Series C funding from New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Times Internet (TIL) and others investors.