Edtech Startup NxtWave Raises $33 Mn To Offer Industrial Training Programs

Upskilling edtech startup NxtWave has raised $33 Mn in a fresh funding round led by Greater Pacific Capital (GPC).

Existing venture investor Orios Venture Partners also participated in the funding round. 

As part of the deal, GPC’s managing director Nandan Desai will join NxtWave’s board.

NxtWave plans to utilise the fund proceeds for product and content development, hire talent and onboard more than 10,000 companies that will hire its learners. The startup will also use the funds to expand across India and undertake acquisitions in the next few years. 

Including the current fundraising, NxtWave has bagged $35.8 Mn in funding to date.

Founded in 2020 by IIT graduates Sashank Reddy Gujjula, Anupam Pedarla and Rahul Attuluri, NxtWave offers online cohort-based training programs in vernacular languages to college students and working professionals.

The Hyderabad-based startup provides industry 4.0 training programs that includes coding, full-stack development, data science, artificial intelligence and machine learning, according to its website.

“We are excited to have GPC as a new partner in our journey. Making India a powerhouse of technologies starts with upskilling our youth. Together, we will bring high-quality, employability-focused education to India’s youth and equip them for the jobs of the future at scale,” said, Rahul Attuluri, cofounder and CEO of NxtWave.

The startup claims that more than 1250 companies have hired thousands of its students upon completing its training programs.

NxtWave’s cap table includes Better Capital, Ravi Bhushan, Ramakant Sharma, Vikram Kailas, Umang Kumar, Chakradhar Gade, Anupam Mittal, Vikas Malpani, Rajesh Shawney, Nandu Nandkishore, Shaji Devakar and Giridhar Malpani, among others. 

“As India positions itself as one of the leaders of the information era, it needs to build the capacity to provide quality learning, particularly in AI for 500 Mn young Indians. Leveraging technology to fill this gap is the key to unlocking India’s economic potential and providing quality employment to its youth, which NxtWave is doing,” said Ketan Patel, founder and CEO of GPC. 

In India, it competes with the likes of Disprz, WebEngage and Cusmat. 

The recent development has come at a time when we are seeing edtech giants BYJU’S, Unacademy and Vedantu are trying to navigate the funding winter situation with several cost cutting measures including layoffs. While smaller players–Udayy and Crejo.Fun closed down shutters permanently.

In a bid to trim losses, Indian startups had laid off more than 8,000 employees since January 2022, according to Inc42 layoff tracker.