[Funding alert] After Deepika Padukone, rapper Raftaar invests in FrontRow

Learning and community platform, FrontRow on Wednesday said it secured an undisclosed funding amount from music tycoon Raftaar and entertainment and music conglomerate AK Projekts.

The fundraise came six months after the startup had secured seed funding of $3.2 million from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Elevation Capital (formerly SAIF Partners), and global Indian icon Deepika Padukone.

Speaking on the development, Mikhil Raj, Co-founder, FrontRow, said, 

“Last year was exciting for us as we launched more than 10 courses with more than 500,000 users on our platform. We aim to grow by 500 percent in the coming few quarters with an additional 10 more courses. Over the last year, we have learnt that creative and athletic arts are not just hobbies but a crucial part of the identities of our users, and in fact, of 99 percent of Indians. We are aggressively trying to expand our offerings not only in quantity but also in quality.”

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[Funding alert] FrontRow raises $3.2M from Lightspeed, Elevation, and Deepika Padukone

The non-academic skill development platform — founded by Mikhil, Shubhadit Sharma, and Ishaan Preet Singh — in 2020 will use the funds to diversify its courses and community offerings, expand into Tier-II and Tier-III cities, promote burgeoning talent, and implement global alliances.

Based in Mumbai and Bengaluru, the startup, which employs a 25-member team, aims to branch out to different locations within India and overseas by 2022. 

FrontRow follows a subscription-based model and offers courses priced at Rs 1,000 and upwards for lifetime access. Each course is broken into 20-25 lessons.

The platform has forged creative alliances with Neha Kakkar, DIVINE, Suresh Raina, Amit Trivedi, Biswa Kalyan Rath, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Raju Srivastava, Sunburn, MortaL, and 8bit Thug, in the past. 

The masterclasses are crafted with a vision to assist students to hone their passion and aptitude under the expert guidance and mentorship from industry pioneers from the field of music, comedy, and cricket.

Raftaar stated, 

"I am very excited to be joining forces with the stellar crew at FrontRow, and see how I can add value in fostering the culture of non-academic education across India. I want to make non-academic learning accessible and affordable for small-town Indians and hope to do so as I embark on this new journey. A big shout out to my partner, Ankit Khanna, for making this happen.”

Ankit Khanna, Founder, AK Projekts, said, “We are extremely bullish on the opportunity presented in the celebrity-driven vocational training platform segment in India. We believe there is huge merit and scope in this business that allows a wide section of people to have access to leaders from their respective fields and to learn from them directly.”