Skilling Platform AntWak Raises Seed Funding From Matrix Partners India

Bengaluru-based experiential skill development platform AntWak has raised an undisclosed amount in its seed funding round from venture capital firm Matrix Partners India. Early-stage fund Better Capital and serial angel investor CRED founder Kunal Shah also participated in this round.

Founded in 2020 by Basav Nagur, Joybroto Ganguly, Sudhanshu Shekhar, Sumit Gupta and Sriramkumar Sundararaman, AntWak looks to enhance the employability of working-age professionals by bridging the gap between the skills imparted by the existing education infrastructure and the demands of the modern industry. 

The platform claims to offer more than 1,000 free, bite-sized professional learning courses in over 15 domains such as cybersecurity, digital marketing, data engineering, user experience, sales and BD, data engineering, powered by over 2,500 experts from more than 500 brands and corporates across at least 30 countries.

With the funding, AntWak plans to invest deeper in content and education infrastructure, and scale up its marketing and inside sales teams. 

“We are solving for Bharat by offering our live classes powered by these professionals who have been there and done it and that too at a fraction of the cost of available alternatives. This is made possible through our focus on creating a lean business model and a low-cost customer acquisition engine,” said Joybroto Ganguly, founder at AntWak.

AntWak was among the startups in the fourth batch of the Google for Startups Accelerator India programme. The tech giant selected the edtech startup for three months of mentorship and support from its network of internal and external mentors.

Founded in 2006, Matrix Partners India has over $1 Bn in management. The company invests in the Indian consumer and enterprise market at the seed, early and early growth stages. Some of Matrix India’s edtech investments include Camp K12 (a global online school for 21st-century skills), Testbook (online learning for government jobs recruitment exams), Toddle (SaaS-enabled marketplace for the global teacher community) and Pesto (career accelerator for developers). 

Besides these, Matrix also counts notable Indian startups such as Ola, Dailyhunt and Country Delight in its portfolio. 

Indian Edtech Sector: A $10 Bn Opportunity

With a market size of $2.8 Bn in 2020, the Indian edtech sector is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 39% to reach a market size of $10.4 Bn by 2025, highlights an Inc42 Plus report,  “The Future Of Edtech In India: Decoding the $10 Bn Market Opportunity”. Some of the major factors driving the adoption of edtech apps in India will be convenience and cost-efficiency of the products and services, a surge in out-of-pocket expenditure on education and a rise in course fees. 

Test preparation, K12 learning, online certification and skill development are expected to be the major drivers of demand for Indian edtech startups in the coming years.