Educational technology platform Kyt on Wednesday raised $5 million in a Series A funding round. The investment is led by Alpha Wave Incubation (AWI), a venture fund managed by Falcon Edge Capital. Sequoia Capital India’s Surge, January Capital, Titan Capital and other angel investors also participated in the round. Kyt is the first Indian company to receive investment from Singapore-based January Capital, the company said in a statement.
Bengaluru-based Kyt will use these funds to expand its operations to Abu Dhabi and use the Emirates as its regional headquarters for targeting the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Middle East/North Africa and other global markets. Kyt also plans to build a world-class team of data scientists, product managers and engineers located in Abu Dhabi.
With learning going online and kids homebound, a bunch of new ed tech startups such as Kyt are offering extra-curricular courses to engage children and make them future-ready. Started by former Uber Eats India head Bhavish Rathod and wife Tripti Ahuja in June 2020, Kyt offers online workshops and courses in dance, music, chess, musical instruments, yoga, public speaking and creative writing courses by combining live classes with video-based revision materials for children from ages 5 to 15 years, in a full stack model.
“With Kyt, we are going beyond the conventional academic learning by building an academy that nurtures holistic and all-round development of children. It is essential to foster children’s interests and encourage learning that equips them with creative and real-world skills; thereby moulding their individual strengths and making them more confident. This new investment will greatly boost our efforts in providing a well-structured curriculum, designed by pedagogy experts and education consultants to help each child realize his/her potential,” said Bhavik Rathod, co-founder and chief executive officer of Kyt.
The funds will also be used for deeper investment in technology and product to enhance the overall experience of students, and to accelerate global expansion. Kyt already has students from India, UAE and Singapore, and is looking to scale its footprint to the US, Canada, UK and Australia.
The platform allows access to high quality extra-curricular courses with a structured curriculum, designed for online learning. The USP of the platform is that it provides a proper mix of training, assessment, feedback, and encouragement. With animated videos and gamification of lessons, the platform encourages kids to practice more and learn better.
“Extra-curricular learning is a critical aspect of a well-rounded education. Kyt has made it possible for students from every corner of the world to access quality learning from best-in-class teachers and practitioners in each field,” said Utsav Mitra, Investor at Falcon Edge Capital.
In November last year, Kyt raised $2.5 million led by Sequoia’s Surge and claims more than 2,000 students have enrolled in its courses and workshops from countries including India, UAE and Singapore. Kids can learn from noted celebrities such as Indian Chess Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi, the Philippines’ hip-hop legend Ruel Varindani and yoga instructor Sabrina Merchant.
Within the next 12 months, Kyt plans to increase the teacher strength from 20+ to about 500, and to add more courses.
