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Hyderabad-based Mobile learning management platform Byndr has raised $700K in seed funding from the Education Design Studio (premier Ed-tech accelerator at the University of Pennsylvania), Ben Franklin Technology Partners, and a group of angel investors.
The startup was founded in 2015 by a team of tech startup enthusiasts from US and India. Founders Joseph Freed, Praveen Vangeepuram and Marc Garabedian are from Philadelphia and Satish Nampally and Prashanthi Vangeepuram hail from Hyderabad.
Byndr is a mobile-first communication and learning management platform for education in emerging markets, where millions of students only access the internet via their mobile device. As part of the University of Pennsylvania’s Education Design Studio, Byndr provides the mobile connection for colleges where bandwidth heavy, desktop-based systems don’t fit. With Byndr, teachers can administer their subjects with ease from any device whereas students stay engaged and connected to educational resources right from their smartphones.
Joseph Freed, co-founder & CEO, said, “In 2017 it is projected that 80% of the internet users in India will be mobile. So the only way to truly create a single point of access for students in mobile-dependent markets like India is with a mobile-first product. With Byndr, students stay engaged and connected to educational resources outside the classroom, enabling the concept of anytime and anywhere learning with a fast and light platform.”
The startup claims to have grown rapidly and is now used by 50+ top colleges in India. It claims to have a total installed base of over 50,000 students on its platform.
The startup plans to utilize the raised capital to expand its sales & development team and grow the product scope in terms of giving more access to educational content for students. It also plans to provide more administrative features for colleges.
Joseph added that this round of funding will allow them to accelerate expansion and continue providing easy-to- use, and mobile-first products for all stakeholders in higher education.
Byndr is a graduate of the Education Design Studio, the Ed-tech accelerator at the University of Pennsylvania, and was a venture prize winner at the Milken/Penn Education Business Competition. It is also supported by the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern PA, an initiative of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development funded by the Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority.
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