In times that are this upending, the world has been in turmoil. The novel coronavirus outbreak has significantly impacted numerous sectors across the world. However, the edtech sector has stood its ground during times like these. With colleges and schools remaining shut, several edtech companies worldwide have been securing funding as demand for their services peaked during the lockdown period.
A similar instance came to light recently, with ed-tech startup Habitat reportedly raising USD 676,700 (₹5 crores) from Whiteboard Capital and Unitus Ventures. The company will use this funding to strengthen its team and upgrade technology.
For the record, Habitat was founded in 2016 by Shikhar Sachan and Rohit Pande. The startup aims to fill the gap between administrative exam aspirants and online education. It is currently operated by Apeirogon Technologies Pvt Ltd.
The startup said in the statement that it currently caters to information-heavy exam segments conducted by UPSC (Union Public Service Commission), PCS (State Provincial Civil Services), and the RBI (Reserve Bank of India).
It aims to enter the competitive exam segment including Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) and pre-medical test (PMT). The company offers these courses in English and Hindi and aims to add other languages as well. It claims it has over 10,000 subscribers. Around 60% of subscribers are from Tier-II and Tier-III cities.
Apparently, ed-tech companies have attracted a lot of investors during the pandemic. One of the prominent investments was in Unacademy which raised USD 150 million in funding led by SoftBank in September. This helped company to enter the unicorn club with a valuation of more than USD 1 billion. Later, the company added two more reputed names to its investor list, Dragoneer Investment Group and Tiger Global Management-that valued the startup at USD 2 billion.
