EduAce raises $1M from mobile internet firm MoMagic

Education startup EduAce Services has raised $1 million (around Rs 6.6 crore) in seed funding from mobile Internet firm MoMagic. This could possibly be the first time that a Lucknow-based startup has raised such a big amount of money.

The capital raised will be utilised to build more school learning programmes, in addition to expanding operations across India, Gaurava Yadav, founder and CEO, EduAce Services, said in a statement.

Run by EduAce Services Pvt. Ltd, the startup works with schools and students on their co-scholastic learning needs. It claims to have already covered over 2500 schools in 25 tier 2 cities across Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh.

Its products include School Quiz League - Pratibha Ki Khoj, a state-centric quiz programme for school students; Daksh, a skill development programme for students and teachers; classroom Edu Fairs; and school excellence awards.

EduAce was founded by Gaurava Yadav and Kalpana Singh in 2012. Yadav has previously worked with Tulip Telecom, KMB and Bharti Airtel Ltd.

Noida-based MoMagic Technologies Pvt. Ltd offers technology-backed and analytically-driven marketing solutions to enterprises, startups and e-commerce players. The company was formed in 2011, and is currently operational in five countries in South-East Asia. FIH Mobile Ltd, a subsidiary of Foxconn Technology Group, had picked up 10% stake in the company in November 2015.

A number of ed-tech startups have raised funding in recent months. Earlier this month, iDreamCareer.com, a career planning services portal, raised an undisclosed amount in pre-Series A funding from media company Bennett, Coleman and Co. Ltd's ad-for-equity investment arm Brand Capital.

In April, online test preparation platform Oliveboard raised an undisclosed amount in funding from India Educational Investment Fund, an early-stage impact investment fund established by Michael & Susan Dell Foundation.

In March, tutorial company Byju's raised $75 million (about Rs 500 crore) from Sequoia India and Belgian investment firm Sofina, in what is perhaps the largest deal in this segment till date. The same month, financial services and analytics education startup Imarticus Learning secured $1 million from a bunch of investors including VC fund Blinc Advisors.

Bangalore-based ed-tech firm Carveniche Technologies Pvt. Ltd secured angel funding in February.

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