Aspiring Minds, the company behind AMCAT, launches a million-dollar seed fund for startups in education and hiring space

Job skills credentialing platform Aspiring Minds has announced the launch of a fund to provide seed investment to startups in the education technology and employment technology space. It is the company behind AMCAT, an employability test helping people find the right jobs using adaptive assessment technology and machine learning algorithms. It allows adaptive and standardised measurement of generic employability skills (language, cognitive and behaviour) and a wide range of functional skills using simulated assessments.

Aspiring Minds is based out of India and has operations in US, China, India, Middle East, Philippines and Sub-Saharan Africa. It has partnered with over 2,000 companies for providing career opportunities to job aspirants. The company was founded in 2008 by Varun Aggarwal and Himanshu Aggarwal.

The company is looking to invest USD one million in different startups in the hiring and education space over the next 12 to 18 months. The fund will focus on investing in technology-driven companies that are developing innovative solutions using mobile technology and data science to address inefficiencies in the education and hiring market. It is also looking to incubate startups in the same sector. The fund will invest in startups based in India, China and US.

Himanshu, Co-founder and CEO, Aspiring Minds said, “While there is demand and innovation, the education and recruitment ecosystem is not getting its due success. Part of the problem has been the barrier to entry in the market coupled with complicated execution. We want to encourage companies which match disruptive innovation solutions like ours to build capabilities in the education and employment technology space. We are not restricting ourselves to any niche area or a specific vertical in hiring or education space. ”

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Aspiring Minds has built a skill credentialing system using scientific assessment instruments backed by sophisticated assessment technologies and machine learning algorithms. The startups under the fund will benefit from leadership and execution capabilities of the team at Aspiring Minds, its advisory board and will be able to make use of the company’s extensive market reach.

Varun, Co-founder and CTO, Aspiring Minds said, “We have completed a part of the puzzle by providing credible assessments to meet the ever growing job-skills paradox. With the launch of this fund, we are on the lookout for companies that can fill in the gaps in the ecosystem and add more value to the labour market.”