SpaceBasic Acquires CAMPUS to Expand AI-Driven University Automation

SpaceBasic, a B2B Saas company that automates student housing and cafeteria operations for universities and educational institutions, has acquired CAMPUS, a B2B, SaaS platform automating attendance, simplifying check-ins, and keeping student engagement effortless and on point for universities. This strategic acquisition will strengthen SpaceBasic’s goal of offering a fully connected campus experience for students.

Founded in 2021 by Shahid M and Siva Sai during their college days, CAMPUS was created to eliminate clunky access systems and tedious attendance tracking. Today, it powers seamless check-ins, automates administrative workflows, and tracks attendance for 10,000+ students daily. With real-time tracking via QR, RFID, and facial recognition, CAMPUS transforms manual processes into intelligent, data-driven solutions. From attendance management to digital student identification, institutions can now experience a smarter, more connected ecosystem.

Commenting on the acquisition, Madhavi Shankar, CEO and Co-Founder, SpaceBasic, said,

Universities today need more than just software—they need intelligent, connected systems that make campus life effortless. At SpaceBasic, our mission is to simplify and transform university operations. Integrating CAMPUS into our ecosystem accelerates our growth and reinforces our vision of building smarter, more connected educational institutions.

 

SpaceBasic Team

Siva Sai, Co-Founder, CAMPUS, said, 

We founded CAMPUS to help institutions reduce manual tasks and make data-driven decisions effortlessly. Our focus was towards streamlining classroom attendance and fostering a connected student community for better collaboration. With SpaceBasic, we are expanding our reach and enhancing our technological ability to empower campuses to operate with greater efficiency.

With SpaceBasic, essential student housing (hostel) operations—room allocation, asset management, maintenance tracking, student approvals, payment processing, IoT-enabled smart ID integration, and digital cafeteria management—are seamlessly automated for a smarter, more efficient experience. Focused on sustainability and energy efficiency, SpaceBasic’s partner universities have achieved a 5x increase in operational efficiency and a 3x reduction in wastage.

In India, SpaceBasic works with 70+ universities, including top institutions like IIM, O.P. Jindal University, Shoolini University, D.Y. Patil University, and Chanakya University. Recently expanding into Malaysia, the company is set to grow further across Southeast Asia.

SpaceBasic is Asia's largest AI-powered student housing automation platform, empowering over 400,000 users across 80+ universities in India and Southeast Asia. Designed to streamline student housing, access control, payments and cafeteria operations, enhancing both university efficiency and student experiences on campus.

https://www.spacebasic.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/spacebasicapp/

SpaceBasic Partners with PES University to Introduce AI-powered Cafeteria Management System

Representative Image [ Credits -  Mikhail Nilov from Pexels]

SpaceBasic, an edtech company that is empowering student housing communities by digitising everyday tasks and communication, has partnered with PES University, a leading teaching and research institution in Bengaluru, to introduce a smart AI-powered Cafeteria system at PES University’s student hostels.

PES University in Bengaluru is a premier institution known for its technological programs and it was ranked fifth in the Outlook-ICARE India University Rankings 2020.

With SpaceBasic's Cafeteria Manager, educational institutions can automate student cafeteria usage in minutes with code-free automation workflows. Hostel Management can easily analyse student food consumption trends while effectively reducing wastage and costs. SpaceBasic's AI powered platform analyses data via a cloud analytic and ML engines to deliver cost reductions and enable streamlined operations. Furthermore, hostel management can also view real-time student foot traffic, can keep track of student meal bookings and cafeteria check-ins.

SpaceBasic Website 

SpaceBasic Cafeteria Manager

Commenting on the partnership, Madhavi Shankar, CEO and Co-Founder, SpaceBasic, said, “ We are thrilled to partner with PES University to implement our cafeteria management system. One of the main goals behind building a smart cafeteria system is to reduce food waste. We found that a lot of students were keen on a tech-driven solution that would avert food wastage in college cafeterias. Our solution completely transforms the way cafeterias are managed by reducing the food waste while creating a seamless experience for students. Furthermore, it plays a key role in providing data driven actionable insights. These insights not only help institutions to streamline their operations but it also leads to significant cost savings and improved student satisfaction.”

Anudeep Seemalamudi Mallesh, Manager Administration, PES University, said, “ Every month our students had to stand in queues for long hours to book a monthly meal plan from a cafeteria of their choice. With 3 cafeterias catering to 1000+ students, day-to-day cafeteria management involves a lot of manual processes mainly in terms of recording student foot traffic, planning menu, and meal bookings. A lot of these manual processes can now be completely automated through the SpaceBasic App and it takes less than a couple of minutes for our students to book a cafeteria of their choice. New age solutions like this not only help us streamline our processes but also improve student satisfaction and experience.

About SpaceBasic

SpaceBasic empowers campus housing communities by digitising everyday tasks and communication, in one workspace.Whether it's rising maintenance requests, or booking meals, students will be able to seamlessly navigate the university experience, and faculty will be able to get data-driven insights to work more efficiently every day!

For more details, visit https://www.spacebasic.com/

Creating an AI Revolution in Student Housing

Author: Anamik Adhikary, Director of Engineering, SpaceBasic

As anyone who has lived in a student hostel or student accommodation will testify, one of the key issues in any hostel is the number of manual processes that are followed. From long waiting periods for simple maintenance issues like replacing a bulb in the room to manual attendance and leave approvals, hostel management is currently driven by manual processes that are time consuming. Imagine if notice board announcements can be replaced with alerts through an app or applying for a leave could be done at the tap of a button or if you could keep a real time track of your maintenance request to the warden for a leaky tap in your room.

Despite technological advancements in other areas, technology is yet to make significant inroads into our educational institutions and universities. The very talent that makes tech products for every industry hasn’t had many tech products built for their campuses. College campuses and student housing can be transformed through the use of technology such as AI. 

 Anamik Adhikary, Director of Engineering, SpaceBasic

At SpaceBasic, we have worked with over 60+ universities across India to change the way their hostels are managed. Let’s take the example of a student housing community within a college campus. If there’s a bulb to be replaced, the student has to approach the warden and raise a request. This request is then recorded in a register, assigned to the maintenance team and then resolved after a few hours or sometimes a few days. During this process, the student has no clue about the status of his/her complaint. Imagine, if the same process can be done through an App where the student can lodge a request at the click of a button and monitor the progress in real time. In order to be able to do this, the institution/student housing must first transition to a digital mode if they haven’t already done so. Next, will be to look at the analysis of the kind of issues that are reported most of the time. Once these systems are run over a significant amount of time, the organisation can have enough data generated to leverage some AI models. The AI system automatically offers admin and management periodic status updates regarding the assets' health after they've been observed for a long time. At the same time, it will alert the management if any assets require immediate maintenance, saving them money in the long run.

In any campus or student housing, a lot of data gets generated that is currently not used or easily available for key decision makers in educational institutions for forward planning. This can lead to very costly errors and wastage. AI can play a key role in providing data driven actionable insights. These insights not only help institutions to streamline their operations but it also leads to significant cost savings and improved student satisfaction.

One of the other areas that AI can help is with efficient management of hostel kitchens/student housing mess management. Students consume approximately four meals per day. The kitchen staff will be able to arrange meals more efficiently with the use of detailed analytics on numerous criteria. Implementing a system in which we know each student's dietary patterns as well as their nutritional requirements will assist the staff in planning meals that meet the students needs and preferences. Students can RSVP via the app before each meal. Based on this information, the hostel kitchen may determine the types of meals that the majority of students enjoy or prefer, the expected number of students for each meal on a daily basis, and the number of plates that must be produced on a daily basis. This can then be connected to the Mess Inventory system, which will assist the mess manager with budgeting, inventory planning, and meal management.

In conclusion, a tech based solution like this for student housing can help in the following ways -

• Reduces turnaround time: Students don’t have to depend on manual processes and communicate effectively through the app
• Real time information - All updates related to tickets/complaints, leave updates, communication alerts are online.
• Ease of collaboration: The management can broadcast alerts at once without having to depend on putting it up on a notice board or making a manual announcement.
• Improves student experience: An app for communication simplifies student living and improves learner experience
• Provides data driven insights: The management can closely monitor the data and get detailed data driven insights which can help efficiently manage their processes and streamline operations

B'luru Entrepreneur Madhavi Shankar One Among the 13 Winners of Australian Alumni Grants Scheme (AAGS)

Madhavi Shankar

Madhavi Shankar was awarded a project grant for her startup SpaceBasic

Bangalore, 30th July 2021: Bengaluru entrepreneur Madhavi Shankar, Founder of Edtech startup SpaceBasic, is one of the winners of Australian Alumni Grants Scheme (AAGS), a grant scheme developed by Australian Consulate General (ACG) Chennai to support the application, sharing of knowledge and experience gained by Indian alumni during their studies in Australia. The Australian Alumni Grants Scheme (AAGS) intends to strengthen ties between both nations, support alumni in their professional endeavours and improve ‘Australia literacy’ in India.

Madhavi Shankar was awarded a project grant of AU $10,000 for her startup SpaceBasic, an AI startup that is digitizing campus living. SpaceBasic is a one-stop communication and networking app that facilitates seamless information sharing for students, universities, hostel management and global partners seeking student engagement. Madhavi Shankar did her Master of Business Administration and Master’s Degree in engineering management from University of Technology, Sydney. She has also worked as Product Manager for Vodlo Pty Ltd, Sydney, Australia for four years.

Madhavi Shankar was chosen from 63 high-quality applications from Australian alumni across India, covering areas as diverse as cleantech, agritech, edtech, clean energy, sustainable environment, women in leadership, STEM, research and innovation. After completing a competitive and merit-based assessment by the AAGS Selection Committee, the Australian Government supported thirteen alumni-led projects totalling AU$157,500. Awards were presented by Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Women, Senator The Hon Marise Payne.

Commenting on the win, Madhavi Shankar, CEO and Co-Founder, SpaceBasic, said "I am thrilled to be recognised by the Australian Consulate General to be a part of the grant scheme. My experience as a student and as a working professional in Australia has given me a strong foundation for SpaceBasic. I look forward to to connecting and collaborating with other alumni for knowledge sharing and to create more opportunities"

In 2019, Madhavi was named as one of the top 30 women transforming India by Niti Ayog and the United Nations. She was among the top young entrepreneurs of the Forbes Asia 30 Under 30 List chosen in the category of enterprise technology. An active advocate of women employment and equal opportunities, Madhavi was also one among the 8 youth leaders chosen for the launch event of UN’s One million Youth leaders event that was held at United Nations Office in Geneva.

The AAGS aims to provide alumni with opportunities to enhance and capitalise on their knowledge and skills to improve practice in their professional fields and communities. Additionally, AAGS will help develop, maintain and strengthen professional linkages and partnerships between alumni and the Australian government, and Australian businesses, organisations and educational institutions.

The AAGS is open to all Indian nationals (or Australian nationals with a valid Overseas Citizenship of India card) who have graduated from a recognised Australian tertiary institution, including recipients of Australian Government scholarships, Government of India scholarship recipients, and private fee-paying students.

For more details visit - https://chennai.consulate.gov.au/cnai/AAGSRound2.html

About SpaceBasic

SpaceBasic is an interactive platform automating everyday tasks and communication within universities, schools and student housing communities, in one workspace. Late last month, SpaceBasic onboarded Shaan Varia and Yousef Yacoub to be a part of its board of advisors. They both invested in the company.

For more details, visit https://www.spacebasic.com/

Silicon Valley-based Investors Shaan Varia and Yousef Yacoub Invest in Edtech Startup SpaceBasic and Join Its Advisory Board

Founders of SpaceBasic_ Madhavi Shankar and Indu Navar(L to R)

Shaan Varia, Product Head, Gauntlet Network and Yousef Yacoub, a seasoned industry professional and early employee at Apple Inc and Sun Microsystems invest in the company and join the board to provide strategic guidance and scale technology to further fuel the company’s growth.

Bangalore, 30 June 2021: SpaceBasic, an AI-enabled digital data platform to automate everyday tasks and simplify communication within educational institutions and their student housing communities, has onboarded Shaan Varia and Yousef Yacoub to be a part of its board of advisors. They have also invested in the company. Shaan Varia is the Product Head at Gauntlet Network and has previously worked as the Engineering Lead at Google Inc. Yousef Yacoub is a seasoned industry professional and early employee at Apple Inc and Sun Microsystems.

SpaceBasic was founded in 2017 by Madhavi Shankar and Silicon valley based serial entrepreneur Indu Navar to help educational institutions to automate everyday tasks and communication within their hostels and student housing communities. 

Headquartered in Los Altos, California, and with an office in Bangalore. SpaceBasic has a highly accomplished founding team with over 60 years of global experience in building and scaling SaaS based enterprises with successful exits. 

Prior to co-founding SpaceBasic, Indu was the Founder and CEO of Serus Corporation, USA. She has previously worked at NASA in Moffett Field California. On the other hand, Madhavi was named as one of the top 30 women transforming India by Niti Ayog and the United Nations. She was among the top young entrepreneurs of the Forbes Asia 30 Under 30 List chosen in the category of enterprise technology. An active advocate of women employment and equal opportunities, Madhavi was also one among the 8 youth leaders chosen for the launch event of UN’s One million Youth leaders event that was held at United Nations Office in Geneva.

Madhavi Shankar, CEO and Co-Founder, SpaceBasic, said -- 

We are excited to welcome Shaan and Yousef to be a part of the team. Shaan’s understanding of AI in education and Yousef’s experience in building products will be of tremendous value to strengthen our tech capabilities and enhance our product. We are pleased with the further validation of our business model and I look forward to working with them to accelerate our next phase of growth and enable us to establish a strong foothold in existing markets.

Yousef Yacoub, said “I believe that SpaceBasic is addressing a large unmet need in the market with its strong technology product that is changing the way student housing and hostels are managed in India. In addition to this, SpaceBasic provides a tremendous opportunity for students to have access to global companies for internships, mentorship and knowledge exchange opportunities. Within a short span of time, the team has shown great potential to capture an increasing market share in this category. I am happy to be supporting them in their mission to digitally transform student housing experience”

Adding to this Shaan Varia, said “SpaceBasic is in an exciting position right at the cusp of digitization in India and is well equipped to bring novel uses of AI/ML to the education space. The team has done a great job of growing their user base and delivering tangible value not just to students, but also to the School Administrations they partner with. I am confident in the team's ability to execute and drive forward their mission.”

SpaceBasic offers a two-fold advantage – one, it allows educational institutions and their student housing communities to do away with redundant and time consuming management processes by automating every possible daily and repetitive tasks efficiently through the app. Two, it provides them a mechanism to analyse meaningful data sources to gain actionable insights through its AI platform. Through SpaceBasic’s AI platform, decision makers at educational institutions can make data driven decisions that can lead to cost reductions and streamlined operations.

With over 150,000 users across 60+ Indian colleges, schools and universities, SpaceBasic works as a plug-and-play model as well as stand alone application. Manipal Global Academy, Reva University, Indus International Schools, DY Patil University, CMR University, PES University are some of the institutions that SpaceBasic has currently tied up with.

For more details, visit https://www.spacebasic.com/