InstaPreps by 7Classes, a confidence diagnosis-based EdTech startup, has raised an undisclosed amount in a seed round from heads of a few top global universities, CXOs, and top executives at the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
Some of the lead investors in the round include Sanjay Nawlakha (Chairperson of Department of Finance, University of Massachusetts), Soumitra Dutta (Founder of Global Innovation Index, Dean at University of Oxford & INSEAD), Manish Bharti (CRO at CoreStack), and Venkatesh Sarvasiddhi (Head Partnerships & CSR at NSDC, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship).
The Mumbai-headquartered startup plans to utilise the funds to expand its app InstaPreps, ramp up its marketing activities, enhance its technology and add new features for an out-of-box approach toward education for the 1.3 billion young minds of the world.
Founded in 2019 by Anup Raaj (IITB alumnus, ex-CTO PSTakeCare and a student of Super30 fame Anand Kumar), Arun Kumar Gupta, Ranjan Kumar Soni, and Arvind Patel (IITB alumnus) – InstaPreps by 7Classes calls itself an innovative educational framework wherein only seven students are allowed in one batch, to ensure individual attention to each and every student. The startup provides a fully digitised platform for STEM students to learn and prepare for entrance exams (Olympiads, IIT, JEE, SAT, USMLE, NEET & Basics) for K-12 learners. According to the company, the platform is flexible enough for future options like GMAT, GRE, SSC, UPSC, CAT, placement tests, and upskilling programmes.
InstaPreps currently has downloads in over 2500 cities across the globe from India, UAE, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Philippines, Myanmar, Africa, United States, Iraq, and Iran.
Speaking about the platform, Anup Raaj, Co-founder, InstaPreps by 7Classes, said,
“Last year we were able to reach and teach in every state. In order to get closer to the vision to connect and help all the 30 crore Indian students, this year our focus is to scale deeper in 700+ districts with our low-cost offerings and Super30-like selection-based free programme for only girls in the name of #GoGirls. This year, we are planning to launch courses in Hindi on financial literacy for women to highlight the importance of investment in education.
We are keen to have an early move in the emerging markets of rural areas which will be unlocked in the immediate future due to advances in generation, energy options, internet connectivity, and smartphone penetration.”
InstaPreps by 7Classes’ two-teacher model of teaching and confidence diagnosis-driven learning is designed to solve issues like crowded classes and low confidence among students. It offers low-cost diagnosis, self-preparation, and confidence session products on a subscription model, micro confidence courses as well as on-demand and full-stack options on a subscription model.
Venkatesh Sarvasiddhi, Advisor at InstaPreps & MD Springer Nature India, Senior Head Digital Skills & Innovation at National Skills Development Corporation India, said,
“InstaPreps is uniquely positioned to address the needs of students from small towns and villages in boosting their confidence levels and helping them with various learning techniques, time management dedicated counseling in regional languages.”
Hailing from small towns themselves, the founders are working towards democratising education in small and rural markets.
With the fresh capital, the startup plans to focus more on AI and deep tech algorithms, and use advanced technology to build and leverage features like confidence facial recognition, improve and automate processes for a seamless learner-service provider experience, and instant teacher matching to students based on their confidence scores, among others.
