[Startup Bharat] Using AI-driven tools, Coimbatore-based iamneo is building a ‘Freshworks’ for IT skilling

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a rise in the demand for SaaS-based edtech solutions.

And Coimbatore-based startup iamneo.ai (formerly Examly) is one of the startups reaping the benefits. Founded in 2016 by Senthilkumar TP along with Arumugham S, Obuli Chandran, Suresh Shanmugham, and Aasif Iqbal J, iamneo.ai is a developer upskill platform enabling a collaborative learning process.

The startup aims to automate the process of IT upskilling by offering AI-driven tools for assessment, recruitment, learning, and development. It wants to ensure job suitability through deep analytics for universities and companies at scale.

“Like how Freshworks provides multiple products for sales, marketing, IT services, among others, we also provide an operating system for learning and assessment specific to IT services,” Senthilkumar tells YourStory.

ALSO READ

[Startup Bharat] How Kerala-based Pradjna is helping employers assess talent of blue-collar workers

Providing IT upskilling solutions

Senthil explains that iammeo’s products together aim to create an ecosystem for educational institutes and companies. The startup’s engagement typically starts when a student enrolls in a college. The institution can use Neo Colab, an AI platform, to automate and manage computer science labs.

Its second product, Neo Exam, is a holistic solution platform to cater to exam-related needs for colleges and universities. Then, educational institutes can utilise Neo Pat to provide placement upskilling and assessment tools to develop industry and job-ready graduates.

“Our next solutions are for corporates — Neo Hire helps in assessing job applicants. Neo Coder, a continuous learning tool, helps corporates upskill new employees. This is how our products help in the transition of a student starting from their college days to even after they have a job,” Senthil explains.

The bootstrapped startup is targeting universities and companies that require IT upskilling solutions. At present, it claims to have over 150 clients, including SRM University, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vel's University, Birla Institute of Science and Technology, Virtusa, PSG, Hexaware, among others.

Co-founder Suresh explains that when students are using the platform to upskill themselves, their work is also compiled on their GitHub account, which can help them create a live resume so that recruiters better understand their skill level.

On starting up from Coimbatore, the founders say that the city is not only an education hub but is also increasingly recording technological disruption.

Co-founder Aasif says, “Coimbatore is an up-and-coming tech startup hub. We want people from across India to be a part of it,” he said.

ALSO READ

[Startup Bharat] This Bhubaneswar-based SaaS firm is building the ‘Shopify for hotels’

Business model and market

The platform operates on a subscription basis. For colleges and universities, the subscription charge depends upon many students are enrolled on the platform from one educational institution.

Similarly, for corporates, the subscription fee is calculated based on the number of hires a company does from iamneo or the number of employees enrolled on the upskilling platform.

“In the current financial year, we have already crossed Rs 5 crore in turnover. We are constantly reinvesting our money back into the company to add people and build solutions,” Senthil says.

According to a recently published report by Chiratae Ventures and Zinnov, India’s SaaS segment has recorded 5X revenue growth, and 2X growth in the number of companies over the last five years. The industry is further expected to grow by 5X over the next five years.

Additionally, the demand for upskilling, especially in the technology space, has grown over the years with numerous startups too working in this segment.

According to a McKinsey Global Survey on future workforce needs, nearly nine in 10 executives and managers revealed that their organisations either face skill gaps already or expect gaps to develop within the next five years.

Delhi-NCR-based Coding Ninjas is offering coding courses to college students to help them upskill their programming skills. Similarly, Delhi-based Codedamn is helping first-time coders and experienced developers can learn, practice, build projects, and get feedback in real-time.

Looking to crack this market with its portfolio of products, iamneo.ai is now looking to raise external funds to fuel its growth. It wants to further improve its products and also expand into the global market.

The co-founders reveal that the startup is planning to raise a Series A round in the next three months.