Educational toy maker Skillmatics eyes US expansion post Sequoia led Series A

Direct to consumer educational toy maker brand Skillmatics plans to double down on its presence in the US as the pandemic fuels the demand for edtech products.  

Part of Sequoia’s Surge programme, Skillmatics on Monday announced that it has secured $6 million (about Rs 44 crore) in Series A funding round led by Sequoia Capital India. The round also saw participation from Jalaj Dani Family Office and existing angel investors, the company said in a statement. 

Skillmatics, which is operated by Mumbai based Grasper Global, will use the fresh capital to build an omnichannel retail strategy in the US, hire across product design, data analytics, technology, and marketing roles, as well as expand product offerings to target newer age groups and enter new product categories.  

The company has so far raised a total of $8 million. 

Founded in 2017 by Dhvanil Sheth and Devanshi Kejriwal, Skillmatics is a full-stack direct-to-consumer (D2C) brand for educational products and games for children.  It currently offers products in three key categories - learning resources, educational games and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) toys.  

The company is present across 15 countries with a primary focus on North America and India. Their products are retailed via its own website, online marketplaces and across 15,000 offline stores worldwide including Walmart and Target. 

“We have adopted a software-like approach to traditional product development and built a suite of proprietary analytical tools that allows us to better understand evolving consumer preferences. This approach has enabled us to create innovative IP-led products that have rapidly gained traction and earned customer love in large markets like the USA, enabling us to build a global brand from India,” Sheth said.   

Since the pandemic, Skillmatics claims to have grown 5X (YoY) owing to the dramatically accelerated consumer shift to online retail globally. The company claims to have sold over 3,000,000 products so far.

“Sequoia Capital India’s Surge first partnered with Skillmatics in early 2019 and it's been exciting to see the company's progress over the last two years. A rapid and iterative product development engine, a clear shift in preferences of parents for educational cum entertainment toys, and tremendous user love indicated by high ratings across the largest retailers in the US are all things that excite us about the company,” Harshjit Sethi, Principal, Sequoia India, said.

Skillmatics competes with players like Playshifu and Byju’s Osmo.