[Funding alert] Edtech startup Guvi raises Rs 6 Cr in pre-Series A round

GUVI Geek Network Private Limited, which owns and operates vernacular-language based education tech startup Guvi, has raised Rs 6 crore in its pre-series A round of funding from Education Catalyst Fund, an education-focused venture capital fund managed by CBA Capital. 

Founded by SP Balamurugan, Arun Prakash and Sri Devi in 2014, Chennai-based Guvi is an IIT Madras and CIIE (IIM Ahmedabad) incubated company that offers technical courses created by industry experts in vernacular languages.

Last April, Gray Matters Capital, a US-based investor had invested in the company.

SP Balamurugan, the CEO at Guvi said that the company aims to use capital raised in this round to scale up its operations, introduce newer courses and expand its geographical presence for its blended (offline+online) courses. 

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During the lockdown, Guvi claims it is experiencing a huge surge in the number of people visiting and signing up to their online courses. Not only students, but working professionals also enrolled for the company’s tech courses, it added. Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been more than 150,000 course enrollments within a period of 12 days, according to the firm.

Bhavesh Hemani of CBA Capital said,

“The business model of Guvi is the 21st-century skilling solution that the country needs right now. It offers the perfect blend of online and offline courses with rising demand and early success evidenced by high rates of employment for students.”

CBA Capital, an impact-based investment management firm, includes firms such as student finance solutions Gyandhan, high finance-focused skilling startup Imarticus Learning, and school infrastructure provider Schoolmitra under its portfolio.

IC Universal Legal acted for CBA Capital and HS Law & Associates represented Guvi for this transaction.

This week, Pune-based exam preparation platform Pariksha has secured Rs 4 crore in a Pre-Series A round led by incubator and accelerator platform Venture Catalysts (VCats).

Also this month, Camp K12, a Gurugram-based education technology startup focused on building a global online school for K-12, also received $4 million in a seed round led by Matrix Partners India and SAIF Partners.