The Co-founders of Kyt
Kyt, an Indian edutech startup, has secured US$2.5 million in funding, led by Surge (by Sequoia India).
Singapore-based Titan Capital as well as angel investors such as Allen Penn, former Global Head of Operations at Uber Eats, and Amrish Rau, Co-founder and CEO of Pine Labs, also joined the round.
The funds will be channelled to expanding Kyt’s platform globally, with a particular focus on its launch in Singapore.
The edutech startup is part of the fourth cohort of Surge, a bi-annual rapid scale-up programme run for startups across Southeast Asia and India.
Founded in June 2020 by the husband-wife duo of Bhavik Rathod and Tripti Ahuja, Kyt leverages technology to provide virtual live lessons to children from five to 15 years old worldwide.
The startup offers two learning pathways on its platform: Kyt Academy and Kyt Workshops. Academy courses span up to 12 weeks and are designed for children who are passionate about specific areas of knowledge outside of traditional curriculums — such as yoga, language, reading, and dance — and want to expand their skills.
Workshops are one-time classes, ideal for children who would like to explore different interests and try multiple classes, including cooking, magic classes, animation, rap and poetry.
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Kyt claims its classes provide opportunities for students to connect to instructors and educators they may not otherwise be able to access. Some of these include Indian chess grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi, Philippine hip-hop legend Ruel Varindani, and celebrity yoga instructor Sabrina Merchant.
The startup claims that more than 1,000 students have taken a course or attended workshops with them, and the platform has more than 20 teachers, with plans to increase this to 500 over the next 12 months.
“Tripti and I started Kyt to build something for our daughter. After speaking to several parents, we realised that there is a much larger need to provide high-quality courses that focus on the holistic and all-round development of the child, beyond just academics,” said CEO Rathod.
The startup claims its curriculum infuses animation and gamification to better engage and motivate students. Its courses require minimal commitment — less than five hours per week for the majority.
Furthermore, there are regular assessments to monitor the progress of each student, with progress reports shared regularly with parents.
Given the limitations to learning during the ongoing pandemic, with schools closing and families being stuck at home, Kyt courses allow students to benefit from real-time interaction, providing the feedback and attention they may otherwise be missing.
“The future of education is a hybrid of online and offline learning, and the market size for primary and secondary extracurricular learning is estimated to be US$10 billion in India alone and around US$200 billion globally,” Rathod added.
“While most learning has previously happened in physical spaces, there will be rapid adoption of online learning even beyond COVID-19, as these well-structured curriculums will build strong global communities, encouraging children to remain engaged over time,” he shared.
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In the coming months, Kyt expects several thousand new students to enrol in its platform, while also onboarding more teachers for online learning. The platform will also be adding more courses, including chess and various musical instruments.
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Image Credit: Kyt
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