Upskilling platform AlmaBetter raises $2.7M in a seed round led by Kalaari, others

Bengaluru-based upskilling platform AlmaBetter has raised $2.7 million in a seed funding round led by Kalaari Capital.

The round also saw participation from angel investors, including Vidit Aarey (CEO, Meesho), Sanjeev Barnwal (CTO, Meesho), Rajesh Yabaji (CEO, Blackbuck), Varun Alagh (CEO, Mamaearth), and Rahul Dalmia (Early backer in Polygon Technology).

AlmaBetter was founded in 2020 by IIT Kharagpur and IIT Delhi alumni Shivam Dutta, Vikash Srivastava, Arshyan Ahsan, Ravi Kumar Gupta, and Alok Anand. The platform provides flagship programs to assist students in establishing careers in high-growth sectors like data science, software development, and blockchain.

With over 16,000 students already enrolled, the startup aims to upskill more than 60,000 students by March 2023. Since its inception, the platform has garnered over 3,00,000 students and has partnered with 500+ MNCs and startups as its hiring partners.

AlmatBetter said it will use the raised funding to expand its offerings to college students and strengthen the existing offerings for graduates and working professionals. The startup also plans to launch new job-oriented courses in the field of Product Engineering, UI/UX, and other related fields.

“Every year, India produces 1.5 million engineers, but more than 80% are unemployable. The situation is far worse for STEM graduates with a meagre 5-7% placement rate. On the other hand, the industry struggles to find tech talent as new-age tech jobs continue to grow at a staggering CAGR of 25%. This clearly reflects the inefficiency of our current system in delivering industry-relevant education," said Shivam Dutta, CEO and Co-Founder of AlmaBetter.

“We, at AlmaBetter, are laser focussed on solving this by providing a tech upskilling platform for the Indian youth. Leveraging AI for personalized learning experiences and minimizing the operational footprint has enabled us to provide quality education and job outcomes," Shivam said.

Speaking on the investment, Kiran Vasireddy, Partner at Kalaari Capital, said, “India is blessed with immense youth potential, but the lack of industry-relevant education poses serious threats to their employability. This calls for innovative and affordable upskilling platforms which deliver quality learning outcomes at scale”.

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