[Funding alert] Learning platform QShala raises Rs 2.7 Cr from Zerodha-backed Rainmatter Capital

QShala, a platform that helps kids learn about life skills, has raised Rs 2.7 crore in angel funding led by Zerodha-backed startup incubator and fund Rainmatter Capital, along with Mindtree Co-founder Kalyan Banerjee.  

Other investors, including Preeti Sawhney (Former Director, Lowe Lintas), Sanjay Tambwekar (CTO, QwikCilver Solutions), Suresh Kumar Pinglay (Former Vice President, Oracle India), Chetan Vinchhi (India Head, Uptycs), Avinash Umapathy (Partner, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas), Akshita Ganesh (Product and Strategy Lead, Reforge), and Nikhil Bhandarkar (Co-founder, Ubiquity Capital), also participated in the round. 

With the latest funding, the Bengaluru-based startup aims to expand its footprint to more cities across India and the world, to cater to children in the age group of eight to 16 years.

QShala helps children look into the "how" and "why" behind the "what" of information. It equips children with a questioning mindset and life skills to stay “qurious”, confident, and aware learners in an ever-changing world.

The startup has programmes that cater to children from Class 1 onwards. The “Quriosity Curriculum” is designed to nurture and nourish imagination and curiosity while focusing on learning that goes way beyond the school curriculum.

Nithin Kamath, Founder and CEO, Zerodha, said, “It is important for children to develop critical and lateral thinking from a young age much beyond their classroom framework in today’s world. We are rapidly moving towards subjective learning where they would need to build a skill set actually required for employability in the future. We have always been big believers in the philosophy of constant upskilling and retraining. Rainmatter is glad to partner with like-minded people focused on helping kids build these skill sets.”

Co-founders Sachin Ravi and Raghav Chakravarthy’s mutual love for quizzing led to the birth of QShala in 2014. The duo realised that they were enabling children to learn “how to think” — a skill that would hold good through their school and life — through quizzing. 

“We are delighted with the support we have received from Rainmatter Capital and other investors. These investments reinforce our belief in QShala’s curriculum, learning experience, and the platform through which we address the need for developing skills and aptitudes in young minds,” Raghav said.

Sachin and Raghav believe that career choices should be enabled by awareness, dialogue, and critical understanding, and not merely by trial and error. According to them, QShala’s solution is a habit-forming companion platform that can impact 150 million students in primary education.