Edtech Startup ixamBee Raises INR 11 Cr in Pre-Series A Led by S Chand & Co., IP Ventures, and Others

ixamBee, a leading online learning platform focusing on job preparation for small-town students, has successfully secured equity funding of INR 11 Crore in its latest funding round. The investment comes from renowned investors, including S Chand & Company, IPV (Inflection Point Venture), Mukesh Sharma Family Trust, Keiretsu Forum, SAN Angles, Mumbai Angels, and Keyur Joshi (Co-founder of MakeMyTrip). The funding round also involved a secondary transaction of INR 3 Crore. ixamBee, founded by Chandraprakash Joshi, Arunima Sinha, and Sandeep Singh, is dedicated to assisting small-town students in their preparation for job-related exams, with a primary focus on government jobs.

ixamBee Founding Team 

With approximately 80 million graduates in India preparing for various jobs in both the public and private sectors, ixamBee addresses the challenge faced by students from Tier II and III cities, small towns, and villages who have limited access to quality education. The platform operates on a freemium business model, offering free mock tests for over 100 exams. Currently, ixamBee has reached over 12 million students, with 1.9 million students registered on the platform.

Chandraprakash, Co-founder & CEO of ixamBee, expressed excitement about the new investors, stating, "We are thrilled to have S Chand & Company and Inflection Point Venture join ixamBee as investors. With S Chand being a leading publishing house for competitive exams, we see significant business synergies. In addition, IPV's existing corporate network will be instrumental in facilitating student placements in private sector jobs. This collaboration will exponentially increase the reach of ixamBee Learning Experience (iLX).The funds raised will be utilized to drive growth by launching additional learning programs, investing in content development, marketing initiatives, and technology enhancements.”

S Chand & Company, while announcing the funding, highlighted the synergies between the companies. "We are delighted to be part of ixamBee's journey, which is focused on empowering students for employment opportunities in both the government and private sectors, bridging the gap between higher education and employability. The emphasis on providing quality and affordable learning to students in semi‐urban and rural areas aligns perfectly with S Chand's vision of delivering quality and affordable education opportunities. We identify several synergies with ixamBee in terms of content development, marketing, and meeting the aspirations of the country's future workforce," said Mr. Himanshu Gupta, Managing Director, S Chand Group.

Vinay Bansal, Founder & CEO of Inflection Point Venture, acknowledged the immense potential of ixamBee in the growing ed-tech market. He stated, "The ed-tech market for higher education continues to expand rapidly and is one of the fastest-growing segments within the sector. ixamBee is addressing an ever-growing market opportunity as thousands of aspirants appear for competitive exams each year. The platform is assisting millions of students in accessing exam papers and study materials to prepare for their careers. We resonate with the purpose of their business and have chosen to invest in the company."

The newly secured funds will be utilized to drive growth by launching additional learning programs and investing in content development, marketing, and technology. ixamBee aims to enhance its comprehensive range of study materials, practice tests, interactive learning tools, and personalization features under the iLX umbrella. By leveraging AI and data analytics, the platform provides students with a personalized learning experience tailored to their specific needs and learning styles while tracking their progress and providing real-time feedback.

What sets ixamBee apart is its deep understanding of the challenges faced by students in their job preparations, both in the government and private sectors. The platform streamlines the learning process to save students time by eliminating information overload, while also offering personalized mentorship for enhancing their interview skills and communication management—a critical aspect often overlooked by students during exam preparation.

The success of ixamBee can be attributed to its commitment to addressing students' needs holistically, resulting in a trusted and beloved platform. Numerous testimonials from students serve as a testament to ixamBee's impact on their career journeys, ranging from cracking exams to making informed career decisions. As a result, ixamBee has garnered a strong reputation and positive word-of-mouth within the student community.

Prior to this funding round, ixamBee had secured investments from Mumbai Angels Network, JITO Angel Network, Keyur Joshi, and notable alumni of the ISB, Hyderabad. Dr. Vishal Gandhi, Founder & CEO of BVA (BIORx Venture Advisors Private Limited), acted as the financial advisor in both the primary and secondary funding rounds facilitated by S Chand and Mukesh Sharma Trust.

About S Chand

S Chand is a leading Indian education content company, that delivers content, solutions and services across the education lifecycle through its presence in three business segments – Early Learning, K-12 and Higher Education. Company has a strong foothold in the CBSE/ICSE affiliated schools, with increasing presence in the state board affiliated schools across India.

About Inflection Point Ventures (IPV)

Founded in 2018, Inflection Point Ventures (IPV) is a 7000+ strong members angel investing firm which supports new-age entrepreneurs, providing them monetary & experiential capital by connecting them with a diverse group of investors.

About SAN Angels

SAN Angels is startup investing platform connecting angel investors across the globe by building an affordable process for investors and startups.

Safety Tech Startup DROR Raises Funds from IP Ventures

Tech-based startup DROR has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from IP Ventures. Conceptualized in 2018, the technology-driven platform aims to ensure safety of citizens and tourists coming to India, especially women, children & senior citizens in urban areasby connecting citizens and building a trustworthy and reliable community. 

DROR is a movement for Safer India which was founded and conceptualized by (Dhiraj Nauhbar, Dheeraj Bansal, Vivek Nauhbar & Ashok Negi) in 2018. This thought dawned upon the team when they were based abroad and many stories about violence against women in India moved them from within. Every 3 minutes India faces a crime against female and children in India. They conducted their own primary research to find the right solution to the problem. Uniqueness & comprehensiveness of the solution is what sets them apart from other initiatives in the country so far.

The co-founders of DROR, Dhiraj Nauhbar and Dheeraj Bansal, were moved by stories about violence against women in India and believed that leveraging technology can change the safety market scenario. Dhiraj Nauhbar is a marketing &strategy expert who was recognized amongst the top 100 most influential marketing professionals in India by World Marketing Congress in 2015. He said, “Coming from e-commerce and digital background, I firmly believe community and technology have the power to solve this big problem of personal safety in India. Personal safety cannot be solved by providing need-based solution, it’s a habit which needs to be build using technology and engagement is the way forward.”Dheeraj Bansal, an IIT Bombay Alumnus and a recognized growth hacker claims that the App can disrupt and aggregate the safety market by enabling people to be able to see how far help is by pressing SOS. 

Safety tech is an evolving space with DROR affirming to provide a comprehensive solution to fill the gap in India. Its team of advisors includes experienced professionals from Defense forces Commander Rahul Bose & Commander Pallav Prakashex-Indian Navy, Dr. Madhumita Pandey Criminology and Victimology Academician, Vivek Nauhbar, ex-BCG, Ashok Negi brand & consumer strategy expert & Neelam Kumari social activist for women rights.

Gopi Latpate, an IP Ventures angel investor said, “This concept has a wide-spread impact on society in terms of how we seek help in case of a troubled situation. DROR addresses one of the core issues related to women’s safety with a sense of community; it differentiates itself beyond traditional alarms and alerts by creating a network of people that can help in distress. The adoption of this technology will definitely improve the situation around women’s safety.”

DROR has initially launched the product via the B2B space and has successfully helped 700+ families who are using the App since the pilot stage.With the newly raised funds, the startup is planning to strengthen its tech platform and invest in user acquisition. 

When asked about his experience with IP Ventures, Gopi Latpate said, “IPV is a novel business model that provides a great platform for angel investors who come from diverse backgrounds and ranks which helps a lot during the due diligence process. IPV is thorough in their evaluation of the startups and quick to respond to investor’s concerns or questions.”

IP Ventures was founded in 2017 by a group of accomplished CXOs who come with rich experience in the start-up ecosystem, either as co-founders themselves or by leading their organizations through various stages of funding. Their expertise lies not only in financial aspects such as private equity and venture capital but also in business strategy, expansion and risk mitigation.

Silicon Valley-based Fintech Startup Vested gets Funded by IP Ventures

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) registered investment advisor, Vested has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Inflection Point (IP) Ventures. Founded in 2018 by Viram Shah, Darwin Arifin, Eric Huynh and Yinghan Lin, Vested is aimed at facilitating sustainable wealth formation by allowing local investors to go international. With a paperless Know-Your-Customer (KYC) process, fractional investing, streamlined fund transfers, commission-free investing, and advisory via pre-build portfolios, they have built a product compatible for Indian investors.

According to Vested, the funds raised via IP Ventures will be utilized in expanding the team and launching new products. Till now they have opened more than 7,000 brokerage accounts for investors all across India.

The founders of Vested come from four different countries and diverse career backgrounds. While Viram Shah is originally from India and has three-plus years of experience in investment banking at JP Morgan in India, Darwin Arifin is originally from Indonesia and has three-plus years of involvement in leading process development and project management at Sandia National Labs and Intel. Eric Huynh is originally from the US and has eight-plus years of practice in product and design. Yinghan Lin is originally from Singapore and has previously worked at Google.

“We are excited to be partnering with IPV via this fund-raise. Their network of CXOs is invaluable. It has already helped us acquire new customers as well as get connected to important business partners” says Viram Shah, CEO, Vested.

Vested offers pre-built portfolios called Vests that allow investors to invest beyond the FAANGs of the world. The fractional proficiency of the company allows investors to start investing as little as $1 in their favorite global companies. Vested has so far established partnerships with Indian banks to simplify the fund transfer process under the central bank’s LRS.

Speaking on his investment in the company, IP Ventures investor Dhaval Radia says “There is a huge market that is ready to be unlocked for Indian investors wanting to invest in US stocks, seamlessly, at their finger-tips. The platform provided by Vested is extremely simple and gets the job done. I expect a ton of sustainable growth for a platform like this, as the investors get more savvy and comfortable with investing in US.” 

“The thing that attracted me at first about Vested is the simplicity of its application. It shows the clarity of thought and customer-centricity, in all that they do. Then when I got to know the diversity and depth in the team behind it, I was convinced that it has all the right indicators for becoming a huge success,” Mr. Radia adds.

The investment advisor firm has bagged a prize of $20,000 at the UC Berkeley’s Launch Accelerator for its accomplishments. Whittling an international investing product localized for Indian investors, it has outstretched funds from investors across India, US, China, and Singapore.

With the partnership with the Broker-Dealer in the US, Vested has become as the only company to offer zero-commission US stock investing to Indian investors.

Over the past 5 years, $1.8 billion has been invested in international markets. This number is set to proliferate substantively as awareness about international investing increases and cost-effective and easy to use solutions become available to Indian investors.

Game-based Assessments & Learning Platform Talent Litmus Raises Funds from IP Ventures

Mumbai-based start-up Talent Litmus, a platform for game-based assessments and learning, has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Inflection Point Ventures (IPV) and Haptik co-founder Aakrit Vaish via Let’s Venture.

Founded in 2016, by Satpreet Arora and Kiran Wadhwa, Talent Litmus is a game-based platform for assessments and corporate learning. It's leveraging the power of games and AI for creating new-age solutions that companies can use to recruit the best talent and develop in-house employees.

[caption id="attachment_136863" align="alignleft" width="225"] Satpreet Arora and Kiran Wadhwa[/caption]

While the co-founder Arora is an IIT and IIM alumnus who gained experience in engineering scalable systems at Yahoo!, Kiran Wadhwa is a creative professional with experience in digital engagement and journalism.

The company has created proprietary algorithms grounded in psychology and data sciences to power its game-based HR applications. This, combined with highly-engaging game mechanics, enables them to create powerful tools for organizations to engage with existing and prospective employees.

“We are excited to bring together the diverse fields of game design, psychology and data analytics to re-imagine talent management. This triad ensures the scope of innovation is limitless,” said Arora, “To be guided by the committed network at IPV and our other investors gives us confidence to surge ahead.”

Talent Litmus already counts some of the country’s largest brands as their partners. Their flagship product, Nautics, was awarded the best behavioural assessment at the World HRD Congress 2019.

Sharing his insights, Sadique, an IPV member, said, “The acceptance of Talent Litmus across industries proves its market potential for solving a significant challenge for organisations.” On the experience with IPV, he said, “IPV is very process-driven. The timeline from pitch to closure is well-defined. The comprehensive reports IPV puts together on startups helps investors make informed decisions.”

Over the next 2 years, Talent Litmus is looking to work with 200+ clients across India, Europe and the US. The start-up will utilize its funds to invest in R&D, expand product portfolio and geographies served.

For Aakrit, the investment decision was straightforward. “We started using Talent Litmus at Haptik and I was blown away by the results and its impact on candidates. I was convinced they have a highly differentiated product backed with credible R&D. The company’s traction signals a strong product-market fit, and I believe in the founding team's capabilities.

The “Assessments and Corporate Learning”industry is poised for change with organizations eager to replace traditional methods with innovative solutions to engage with their tech-savvy workforce.

Jignesh Kenia, another IPV member, said, “Our teams played Nautics and were happy the assessment results inferred from the gameplay." This increased our confidence to invest in the business.

Location Intelligence Startup GeoIQ Raises Funding from IP Ventures

Bengaluru based location Intelligence platform GeoIQ has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from IP Ventures. An early revenue stage start-up, GeoIQ has already established itself in the space of location intelligence based on multiple data sources. It has over 25 clients across retail and logistics including Sanofi, Eko Financial, Bounce, Curefit etc.

Founded in 2018 by Devashish Fuloria (CEO – IIT Kanpur 2004), Tusheet Shrivastava (CTO – IIT Kanpur - 2011) and Ankita Thakur (Chief Data Scientist), the founders come with start-up domain & consulting experience, as well as expertise in ML & AI having solved large data problems in their previous roles. Devashish said, “for an enterprise product like ours, the access to the right set of people is paramount. IP Ventures brings together an excellent group of people, with experience across major industry sectors who provide direct assistance on how to tailor our product as per the industry needs."

On the fund-raising, Ankita said, “The process of raising funds was rigorous, transparent, and most importantly from a founder's perspective ultrafast as well. We intend to utilize the funds to hire tech team members, product development and focused marketing.”

A recent report by Gartner states that by 2021, organizations that offer a curated catalogue of internal and external data to diverse users will realize twice the business value from their data and analytics investments than those that do not. The Location intelligence global industry is pegged to be at $25 Billion by 2025. While North America is the largest market, APAC is the fastest-growing region.

Tusheet said, “a strong blend of ML capabilities, data engineering, geo-spatial expertise and a state-of-the-art product is driving GeoIQ. With this unique set, we have married client data with satellite imagery and government data with ridiculous ease.” Since its inception, GeoIQ has built a repository of granular data from multiple sources and now boasts of granular demographic information on 500 million grids (100x100m) across India.

Speaking on his investment in the start-up, IP Ventures angel investor Rajeev Pandiya said, “GeoIQ offers real-time solutions to help allocate resources towards the real Target Customer Group in a cost-efficient manner. In a slowing economy, this can be a competitive advantage for senior management trying to gain market share as well as get real-time accurate data to keep a check on sales teams’ expenditures justifying wasteful promotion schemes, incentives etc.”

AI Enterprise Data Platform, Resonance Raises Undisclosed Funding from IP Ventures

Smart Enterprise Data platform, Resonance has raised an undisclosed angel funding from IP Ventures. The company’s flagship product Rene is a mobile phone-based AI platform that captures and analyses unstructured sales and client data available within the company's internal systems like emails, calendars, CRM systems and externally on the world wide web. Rene also empowers business teams to capture insights from meetings using voice notes.

Founded in 2017 by Shishir Kapoor and Rantej Singh and later joined by Som Dutta, Resonance has a R&D team based in Gurgaon. Its differentiation is in the proprietary AI tech for deep mining of internal and external sources of structured and unstructured data to identify intelligent threads of relationships, generating an unprecedented level of actionable insights.

Commenting on the investment, Rantej and Shishir said, "IPV team was very professional and helpful throughout our fundraising process. IPV not only carried out a deep due-diligence of our business but also provided us with detailed feedback from senior industry leaders, which greatly helped us in focusing on our strengths and addressing the gaps. IPV has opened many business development opportunities through its networking events."

Resonance has signed up clients in the US and South-East Asia. It intends to use the funds raised in the hiring of more engineers and the expansion of its sales footprint in international markets.

IPV angel investor Manoj Sohoni said, “Rene’s algorithm captures natural or written conversations and translates it into structured logical data. It also has the capability to interface data with multiple sources and data platforms. Rene generates powerful insights using AI which then can drive enormous productivity, raise sales effectiveness, create highly personalized services, enable new services, markets or geographies. Rene as a business assistant has huge market potential and path-breaking applications in industries such as banking, financial services, insurance and retail.”

The data market is expected to reach $132 billion by 2020. Out of this $50 billion will be on getting data into the hands of their teams. A recent data analytics capability study found that 68% of business users wanted to improved visibility on internal data, 44% wished for more customer data and 28% desired easy access to third party data. Rene’ addresses all these gaps through a fast, user-friendly mobile phone-based product.

Resonance is an applied AI+smart data assistance provider. The company’s flagship product Rene is a mobile phone-based AI platform that captures and analyses unstructured sales and client data available within the company's internal systems and externally on the world wide web. Rene traces unstructured data anywhere found from emails, calendars, contacts, CRM systems, etc. For more information visit - https://rdata.tech

About IP Ventures

IP Ventures is a sub-initiative of CXO Genie. It was founded in 2017 by CFOs/ finance professionals who come from the start-up ecosystem, either as co-founders or by leading their organisations through various stages of funding.