Omidyar Network India leads seed round in edtech platform Kutuki

Kutuki, a learning platform focused on children between the ages of three and seven, has raised Rs 16 crore (around $2.2 million) in a seed round led by Omidyar Network India.

Omidyar Network India, part of the larger Omidyar Group, makes investments in early-stage enterprises in sectors such as emerging technology, education, and financial inclusion. Other companies in its portfolio include Kaleidofin, Indifi Technologies, and the Bharat Inclusion Initiative.

Other investors that participated in this seed round include AET, as well as existing backers Better Capital, First Cheque, and Abhishek Nag, Bengaluru-based Kutuki said in a statement.

Prior to this, Kutuki had raised an undisclosed amount in January 2019 in a pre-seed round from Better Capital AngelList Syndicate and Mphasis founder Jerry Rao.

Kutuki, operated by Soniqmantra Pvt Ltd, was set up in 2017 by Bharath Bevinahally and Sneha Sundaram. 

Currently, the company has content in five languages - English, Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, and Marathi. It will use the capital it has raised to expand its content library to cover all major Indian languages, as well as to create a more immersive learning experience for students and expand market reach to Tier-II locations and beyond.

The investment in the company shows continued investor interest in the edtech segment. Early-stage startups in the space have continued to raise capital, even as bigger players such as Byju’s and Unacademy snap up companies.

Earlier this month, Newton School raised $5 million in a Series A funding round led by Russian venture capital firm RTP Global. Nexus Venture Partners and Prophetic Ventures were returning investors in the round.

BeyondSkool, a live online upskilling academy for kids, raised $2 million in seed funding from early-stage investment fund Tomorrow Capital in January this year. Also last month, Kyt Technologies Pvt Ltd, which operates a platform focused on extracurricular learning for children, raised $5 million led by Alpha Wave Incubation.

Other startups in this space that have raised funding in recent months include Udayy, PurpleTutor, Yellow Class, and Stones2Milestones.