Aviotron Aerospace Bags Funding To Offer Experiential Learning To School Students

Noida-based edtech startup Aviotron Aerospace has raised INR 4.96 Cr ($600K) as part of a Pre-Series A round from venture capital (VC) firm Enrission India Capital.

The round pegs the startup at a post-money valuation of INR 70 Cr.

The startup, which focuses on experiential learning for students up to class 12, will use the fresh funds to expand its footprint across India.

Founded in 2019 by Vaishnav C, Ashish Kumawat, Neha Chauhan, and Nitin Choyal, Aviotron Aerospace is a B2B edtech startup that offers experiential learning to students in partnership with schools. 

So far, the startup has tied up with 65 schools in 15 states and currently caters to around 20,000 students. It aims to expand its footprint to schools in 28 states by the end of the year.

The startup last raised INR 2 Cr in seed funding from undisclosed angel investors at a valuation of INR 12 Cr back in 2022. 

Aviotron charges schools a sum of INR 8,500 per student per annum for their tailored programme. The company also claims that it earns an average revenue of INR 25 Lakhs to INR 30 Lakhs from each school. 

Speaking with Inc42, the company’s founder, Neha Chauhan, said the edtech startup minted a profit of INR 50 Lakh on a revenue of INR 5 Cr in 2023. Chauhan added that the company has set its eyes on clocking a revenue of INR 45 Cr in 2024. 

As it eyes its next stage of growth, it also claims to have signed contracts, which generally have a minimum tenure of five years, with more than 100 schools to deploy its offerings.

The fundraise comes at a time when the Indian edtech sector is undergoing a massive churn. While the sector saw VCs and PEs pump in billions of dollars during the height of the pandemic, the investor interest diminished as soon as school and colleges opened post lockdown. 

Making matters worse were a slew of issues with the startups in the sector including heavy cash burn, mounting losses, weak governance guardrails, among other issues. The space also led all other sectors in laying off the most number of employees in the last two years. As many as 24 edtechs have sacked more than 14,616 employees since 2022. 

While heavyweights such as BYJU’S, Unacademy, UpGrad continue to post heavy losses, names like Udayy, Supen Learn, and DUX Education have shut down operations in the last two years due to the funding crunch. 

This has dampened investor sentiment toward this once-flourishing space. As per Inc42’s Indian Tech Startup Funding Report 2023, Indian edtech startups could only secure a mere $283 Mn in 2023 compared to $2.4 Bn in 2022, a massive 88% year-on-year (YoY) decline.