Aakash Institute Backed Sparkl Edventure Secures $4 Mn from Zomato, Zerodha Founders

Aakash Chaudhry, cofounder of offline coaching institute Aakash Educational Services Limited, has secured a seed funding of $4 million (around INR 34 crore) from Zomato’s founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal and Zerodha’s cofounder and CEO Nithin Kamath for his new online tutoring platform Sparkl Edventure.

Sparkl was founded in October of this year by Chaudhry, Pavan Chauhan, and Ritesh Hemrajani of Meritnation. It provides tailored learning programmes for students navigating the worldwide waters of the worldwide Baccalaureate (IB) and Cambridge curriculum, as well as internationally accredited and trained teachers, AI-enhanced pedagogy, and its own technological platform.

Aside from Zerodha’s fintech and sustainability-focused fund Rainmatter and Goyal, other prominent investors are expected to join the cap table.

Related: Edtech Company Aakash Bids Farewell to Digital Classroom Programme Amidst Job Cuts

“Sparkl is at the vanguard of personalized education, combining AI and professional pedagogy to provide unique one-on-one tutoring experiences. “We hope to meet the growing demand for specialized and effective learning solutions by focusing on IB, IGCSE, and A-level students,” Chauhan stated.

According to sources, students from locations such as Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Pune, and Hyderabad have already enrolled in Sparkl’s classes, and the company wants to expand the platform through technological interventions.

AESL, his most recent edtech business, was acquired by ailing edtech behemoth BYJU’S in a cash-and-stock deal worth $1 billion in 2021. In the aftermath, the two sides clashed over the share swap, with the Chaudhry family, which formed Aakash, refusing to swap their shares. Chaudhry still owns an 11% holding in AESL today.

In September, Aakash Educational Services was reported to be developing a rebranding plan known as ‘Aakash 2.0’ with the goal of expanding its operations, improving efficiency, and establishing hybrid learning centers.

This development comes at a time when investor confidence in the edtech sector is increasing as they intend to grow their capabilities and footprint.

For example, Kreedo Early Childhood Solutions, a firm that provides transformation solutions for early learning in schools, recently raised INR 10 crore ($1.2 million) in debt capital from Recur Club to grow its product offerings and operations.

Prior to that, edtech startup Bhanzu raised $16.5 million (approximately INR 139 crore) in a Series B fundraising round headed by venture capital firm Epiq Capital in November to expand its presence in the United States.