iNurture Acquires Edtech Startup KRACKiN For Undisclosed Amount

Ventureast-backed edtech startup iNurture, which provides industry-related skill courses, has announced the acquisition of a similar skill-based edtech platform — KRACKiN — for an undisclosed amount. With the acquisition, iNurture aims to boost its network in helping graduates become employable.

ET cited Ashwin Ajila, founder of iNurture, as saying, “While universities and colleges have well-developed metrics to measure the academic performance of students, they don’t have similar metrics to measure the employability of their students. We realised that a 360-degree engagement and assessment platform would create a greater impact on students, academics, and industry partners.”

iNurture in January this year raised $4.3 Mn in its Series C funding round led by Ventureast along with existing investors Bertelsmann India Investments and Ascent Capital. It had announced it would use these the funds to expand its elearning platform for Skill Centers and distance learning capacities and also its managed campuses business.

On the acquisition, co-founder of KRACKiN, Kiran GR said. “iNurture’s network of partner universities, international collaborations, and understanding of the academic system places it in a position to catapult KRACKiN forward.”

The Synergy Between KRACKiN And iNurture

Bengaluru-based entrepreneurs Kiran GR and Prashanth BR co-founded KRACKiN in 2016. The platform uses an AI-based methodology to help graduates measure their employability, discover skill gaps, and enhance their skills through a personalised learning assistant.

With KRACKiN, iNurture will be able to provide a multi-channel platform for students, academia, and the industry to collaborate with each other to boost the employability of students and establish a framework for firms to assess job readiness.

Founded in 2007, iNurture offers a wide selection of industry-relevant courses in association with leading universities/colleges across India. The company has partnerships with over 30 academic institutions across the country and more than 6,000 students are currently pursuing its programs.

Here, iNurture competes with startups like GreyAtom, AEON Learning, Univariety etc, which have also recently completed their funding rounds.

According to Inc42’s Annual Indian Tech Startup Funding Report 2017, edtech startups have already garnered $466 Mn funding from 2014-2017. The online education market is expected to touch $1.96 Bn by 2021, a KPMG-Google report released in May 2017 said. Re-skilling and online certification courses currently account for a majority (38%) of the online higher education market, the report added.

The consolidation of iNurture and KRACKiN will certainly open new doors of opportunity for both the companies to build a strong positioning in this growing market.