Ed-tech startup iNurture raises Series C funding

Bengaluru-based ed-tech startup iNurture Education Solutions Pvt. Ltd, a provider of formal higher education programmes in India, has raised Rs 28 crore ($4.4 million) in a Series C round of funding led by venture capital firm Ventureast, a company statement said.

The announcement comes a month after VCCircle first reported iNurture is raising a fresh round of equity funding.

Existing investors Bertelsmann India Investments (strategic investment arm of Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA) and private equity and venture capital firm Ascent Capital, also participated in the round.

The funds will be used to expand iNurture’s e-learning platform for skill centres and distance learning, and to scale up its campuses’ business.

Last year, iNurture had signed a joint-venture agreement with Galileo Global Education to offer additional programmes in design and sports management. It also launched the e-learning platform for existing university partners.

Before this round, the company had raised funds from Bertelsmann India Investments, Ascent Capital, BlackSoil Capital Pvt. Ltd (non-banking financial arm of asset management company BlackSoil Group) and GVFL Ltd (formerly Gujarat Venture Finance Limited).

Established in 2007, iNurture offers industry-related courses in association with universities and colleges across India. It has partnerships with more than 30 academic institutions across the country and more than 6,000 students are currently pursuing its programmes.

Founded by Ashwin Ajila, iNurture focuses on verticals such as information technology, marketing leadership and innovation, financial services, business analytics, new media and design.

“iNurture has the right combination of online and offline models, aligned with the official curriculum provided by AICTE (All India Council for Technical Education),” said Srikanth Sundararajan, general partner at ‎Ventureast.

Other ed-tech startups that have recently raised funds include AEON Learning Pvt. Ltd, Rubix108 Technologies Pvt. Ltd, CollPoll, and Springboard.

Bengaluru-based AEON Learning, which offers online degree programmes and skill development courses, raised $3.2 million(Rs 20.43 crore) in a Series B round from MEMG Family Office LLP last week.

Early this month, Pune-based ed-tech startup Rubix108 Technologies secured $1 million (Rs 6 crore) in a pre-Series A round of funding led by venture capital firm Polaris Fund.

Also this month, Bengaluru-headquartered Butterfly Innovations, operator of ed-tech startup CollPoll, which runs a communication and collaboration platform for educational institutes, raised an undisclosed amount in a pre-Series A round.

In December 2017, Bengaluru-based and US-based online ed-tech platform Springboard raised $9.5 million (Rs 62 crore) in a Series A round.