Subscription-based learning activity platform Xplorabox bags seed capital

Delhi-based Xplorabox, which offers a subscription-based activity box for children, has raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding, a top company executive told TechCircle.

Imagismart Solutions Pvt. Ltd, which operates the venture, raised this round from Mumbai-based startup accelerator Z Nation Lab, US-based early-stage investor Metaform Ventures and Mumbai-based Sridham Enterprises LLP, Rishi Das, Xplorabox’s co-founder and chief executive said.

The startup will use the funds to develop new products, ramp up its technology backbone and for marketing and customer acquisition efforts, he added.

“We are looking to raise more funds as part of an extended seed round. Eight to nine months down the lane, we might start looking to raise our Series A round,” Das told TechCircle.

Delhi-based CENSIE Capital Partners was the adviser for Xplorabox on the current capital raise.

The development was first reported by online media publication Inc42.

Xplorabox

The startup was founded in 2015 by Das along with this wife Shweta Das and two other individuals—Dhirendra Meena and Rishabh Gupta. The three-year-old venture offers an activity box for kids that help develop their motor, cognitive and social skills.

The activity box is offered on a subscription basis for three-six months and up to a year. Every month, the child will receive a theme-based box with projects, games, do-it-yourself projects and a storybook. Currently, Xplorabox caters to children between 2 to 8 years of age. It also operates an Android app for parents.

“Because of lesser open spaces available for children and safety and security concerns, the average time a child spends outside has reduced. We thought we could fill a gap here in terms of catering to the curiosity and creativity of a child and keep them engaged in a constructive manner in their time spent at home,” Das explained.

Going forward, the startup plans to expand its product range for children up to 12 years of age. Launched commercially in late 2016, the company has served more than 50,000 customers in over 600 cities and towns across the country.

“We are looking to tap the top 20% of kids in the age group of 0-16 years, which comes to around 55 million kids in the target audience group. A parent typically invests around Rs 6,000-7,000 per child every year on expenses other than the normal educational expenses. We are operating within a potential Rs 53,000 crore ($7.3 billion) market opportunity,” Das added.

Deals in the space

Other players that offer activity-based learning kits to children include Flintobox and Magic Crate.

In July, Magic Crate raised an undisclosed amount in its pre-Series A round led by Fireside Ventures.

In August this year, Flintobox secured Rs 6 crore ($870,000) in venture debt from InnoVen Capital. In December 2017, it raised $7 million (about Rs 45 crore) in a Series A round led by venture capital firm Lightbox.