Edtech Startup Creative Galileo Raises $7.5 Mn To Offer Vernacular Learning Programs, Foray In SEA Market

Edtech startup Creative Galileo has raised $7.5 Mn in its Series A funding round from Kalaari Capital, Affirma Capital, East Ventures, Valiant Employee Investment Fund, and a slew of other angel investors. 

Creative Galileo will use the fresh capital to scale its business, accelerate hiring across teams working in multiple geographies, introduce regional languages and strengthen R&D of the platform.

The startup, which focuses on children in the 3-10 years age group, has raised $10 Mn till date, including the latest funding round. 

The edtech startup was incorporated in July 2020 by Prerna Jhunjhunwala and Nikhil Naik. 

“Having a realisation that a chunk of people entering adulthood today don’t know how to read, I found this as my calling and decided to offer foundational learning to every child thereby, giving them a right to education,” Jhunjhunwala told Inc42. 

Ending The Cookie Cutter Approach 

Unlike the traditional school system, Creative Galileo does not follow old school practises. It helps children learn at their own pace by offering a personalised learning experience.

The freemium mobile-based app uses popular fictional characters such as Little Singham, Shaktimaan, Mighty Raju, and Darwin, among others to engage young kids. These fictional characters replace conventional teachers and offer customised learning experiences to young kids.

“We offer a spectrum of learnings including STEM, social and emotional learning, cognitive development, thinking and reasoning and problem-solving skills, which are then gamified and customised for children,” Jhunjhunwala said.  

The Mumbai-based edtech startup primarily uses fictional characters after forming exclusive partnerships with animation studios. Through this, it also eliminates any type of competition. 

“So any child who seeks to learn through fictional characters has to come to our platform. Since we have exclusivity for all characters, we do not face competition at all,” Jhunjhunwala added. 

The edtech startup plans to widen its portfolio of fictional characters by introducing international characters on the platform. Besides, it is also looking to foray into the SouthEast Asian market.

It claims to have over 7.5 Mn app downloads to date and is aiming to have a user base of 20 Mn in the next 12 months. Currently, it offers content in Hindi and English language, and will soon expand its offerings in Tamil, Telugu and Marathi languages.

The startup claims to be growing 15% month-on-month (MoM), along with a 56% increase in customer engagement after reopening of schools. 

Positive Outlook On Indian Edtech Sector 

The COVID-19 pandemic gave a boost to the edtech sector as educational institutions were shut amid the lockdowns. However, the global economic slowdown and decrease in demand due to the reopening of educational institutions has resulted in many startups in the sector shutting down and laying off employees.

However, Jhunjhunwala is not perturbed by this. “I believe that macroeconomic cycles happen. The industry is coming out of a 14-year bull run. As a result, besides the edtech sector, a slew of other sectors are also equally impacted,” she said.  

The edtech sector is here to stay and the companies that have the right product-market fit will be able to successfully emerge from the current crisis, Jhunjhunwala added. 

The Indian edtech market, which was estimated to have a size of $2.8 Bn in 2020, is expected to expand to $10 Bn by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 39% over the 2020-25 period.

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