Edtech Startup Ulipsu Bags $3.2 Mn To Diversify Portfolio, Foray Into Middle East

Edtech startup Ulipsu has raised $3.2 Mn as part of an extended Pre-Series A funding round at a valuation of $50 Mn. With this, the platform has closed the round with total funding of $5.7 Mn.

The round saw participation from existing investors and high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) from the Middle East and Canada. In addition, the startup also claims to have executed a secondary sale of $225K, involving its seed investors.

Ulipsu will deploy the capital to expand its footprint globally and strengthen its domestic operations. The startup will also utilise the investment to fuel growth by diversifying its product portfolio and launching new products. A part of the funding will also go towards ramping up hiring to support growth in the coming year.

“…Ulipsu provides global standard content and curriculum for 15+ skills with assessments, projects, and skill reports. With NEP advocating the importance of skill development, schools are finding immense value in Ulipsu, and we see a significant market opportunity both within India and overseas,” said Ulipsu cofounder and chief executive officer (CEO) Sumanth Prabhu.

Reacting to the announcement, investor Srajan Shetty said, “Ulipsu’s planned product development, healthy tractions, strong unit economics and the probability of it becoming one of the major players in the K-12 space in the next 2-3 years have enabled the brand to raise a fresh round of investments this season…”

Founded in 2022 by Prabhu and Nikhil Bhaskar, Ulipsu operates an edtech platform modelled on the lines of an OTT platform, which offers structured skill-based learning courses for children between the ages of 6 and 16. It also provides a plug-and-play learning infrastructure for schools, allowing them to introduce different courses such as communication, AI, finance, entrepreneurship and others in their pedagogy. 

The Bengaluru-based startup has been raising funds in multiple tranches. In November 2022, it raised $1.5 Mn in capital from various investors and, before that, it also lapped up $1 Mn Pre-Series A funding in October 2021. 

The startup claims to have so far deployed its learning infrastructure in more than 200 schools across the country and offers more than 350 curated courses covering 15 skills. With a team of 150 employees, Ulipsu claims to have a full-scale content creation and production unit in Mysuru. 

Elaborating on its plans, the edtech platform plans to onboard more than 1,000 schools across the country by the end of the current academic year and is eyeing foraying into the Middle East this year. 

Ulipsu claims to be well-poised to achieve a 500% year-on-year (YoY) growth till financial year 2024-25 (FY25) and expects to make its first profit in FY26.

The funding comes at a time when the overall Indian edtech startup ecosystem has been hit by a funding drought. As per Inc42, Indian startups raised a paltry $100 Mn in funding in the first three months of 2023, tanking 93% YoY from $1.46 Bn during the same period last year. 

However, in some glimmer of hope in Q2 2023, it was reported that an edtech decacorn was close to finalising a deal to raise a $1 Bn funding round. Earlier this week, another edtech startup uFaber bagged INR 25 Cr in Series-A funding from Mastermind JPIN Capital Partners Fund and Gray Matters Capital. 

In April, edtech startup Adventum Student Living (ASL) secured $5 Mn as part of a bridge funding round from Cornerstone Ventures and other existing investors. 

As per an Inc42 report, India is projected to have more than 100 Mn paid edtech users by 2030, with the homegrown market expected to grow to a size of $29 Bn by 2030.