Ed-tech startup Avishkaar Box raises pre-Series A funding

Delhi-based ed-tech startup Avishkaar Box, which manufactures and sells robotics-based educational kits for school-going students, has raised Rs 5 crore ($772,500) in a pre-Series A round of funding from Auxano Deals, a company statement said.

The startup will use the funds to expand its presence in India and Asia, hire talent and for product development, the statement said.

Avishkaar raised this sum at a post-money valuation of $4 million, the statement added.

Gurgaon-based Auxano Deals is run by Brijesh Damodaran Nair and Ashish Padiyar, co-founders of wealth management firm Bellwether Advisors, which is also based out of Gurgaon, according to the company’s spokesperson. Auxano has previously invested in ventures in online grocery, co-working space, and analytics among others.

“The company is also looking to strengthen its channel partner network especially in Karnataka, West Bengal, Odisha and other parts of east and south India,” Tarun Bhalla , founder and chief executive of the venture, said in the press note.

He added that the company will double its turnover to $3 million from its current $1.5 million within the next two years.

Founded in 2013 by Bhalla, Avishkaar Box develops and sells robotics kits to school children. The kits cater to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects. It also develops and provides an in-school robotics programme that can be integrated within the school curriculum. Besides, it also helps install robotics and science labs for schools.

Currently, Avishkaar Box, which is run by Building Blocks Learning Solutions Pvt Ltd, claims that its products have been adopted by more than 400 schools across the country.

The company is also part of the government’s Atal Tinkering Labs, an initiative to promote science and innovation among school children in the country. Avishkaar has set up 125 of these labs across the country.

A Delhi University alumnus, with an MBA from the University of Washington, Bhalla had earlier worked at Wipro and Expedia, among other stints, before taking up the entrepreneurial mantle.

Around four ventures in the broader educational technology space have raised funding in February alone.

Mumbai-based Haygot Education Pvt Ltd, which runs ed-tech startup Toppr, raised $100,000 (Rs 65 lakh) as part of an extended Series B funding round from Hong Kong-based early-stage investor Axis Capital Partners.

Chennai- and Singapore-based Littlemore raised $3 million(around Rs 20 crore) in a fresh round of funding from Kalpavriksh, the private equity arm of financial services firm Centrum.

Likewise, Mumbai-based ed-tech startup Shirsa Labs Pvt raised $500,000 (Rs 3.21 crore) in a pre-series A round led by Cross Border Angels (CBA), which is an investment network started by US-based consultancy Scaale Group.

Ed-tech startup CollegeDekho, which is run by GirnarSoft Education Services Pvt. Ltd, raised $2 million (around Rs 13.2 crore) in its third round of funding from London-based Man Capital LLP, Girnar Software and other investors.