Former Unacademy COO Vivek Sinha's startup Beyond Odds Technologies secures $11M

Former Unacademy COO Vivek Sinha's startup Beyond Odds Technologies has raised $11 million in seed funding from Matrix Partners India and Lightspeed, among others.

The startup aims to establish a platform that focuses on grey-collar work training, certification, and recruitment.

"Our platform will address the shortages in skilled workforce in both domestic and global markets by creating high-quality supply from India. Our first initiative, ‘Emversity,’ is a higher education brand that helps universities integrate their degrees with industry-relevant skills," Founder and CEO Vivek Sinha said.

In the upcoming academic year, Beyond Odds says it will focus on offering undergraduate courses in allied health sciences, including training for diagnostic and scanning lab technicians. The company plans to launch seven centers across Hyderabad, Delhi, Nagpur, Kochi, and Ranchi addressing the notable shortage of skilled workers in this field. The first center is scheduled to open in Bengaluru this month.

"Our courses also come with ‘built-in income’, so candidates do not have to wait for completion

of their formal higher education to earn their first pay cheque. Other features of these courses include ‘work

abroad integrated’ modules, and extensive placement assistance." Sinha added.

In the future, Beyond Odds aims to foray into education, hospitality and construction. It plans to train a job-ready workforce through high-standard, tech-enabled programs in collaboration with industry partners and physical centers.

Depending on the type of courses and the location of the center, the price of these courses will range from Rs 3 to Rs 4.5 lakh for three-year degree courses and Rs 50,000 to Rs 90,000 for certification courses.

Emversity has partnered with leading healthcare institutions like Fortis Hospitals and Core Diagnostics to tailor its courses to meet industry skill demands and provide placement opportunities for students.

"Today, India experiences a unique situation where we have an expanding workforce supply but a talent and skills gap across industries. Beyond Odds recognises and aims to tackle these limitations of the current education system. By enabling vocational skills-based education among students in partnership with public and private partnerships, they're solving both the demand and supply problems in college education today." said Harsha Kumar, Partner at Lightspeed.