Update: We have updated the headline and story as Deepak Parekh had denied making any such investment in Eduisfun. According to Parekh, neither he nor any of his family members have invested in this fund and the news item is misleading.
Educational technology startup Eduisfun has secured Rs 200 crore in its maiden round of funding from a list of marquee angel investors and high net-worth individuals, including Amitabh Bachchan, who has invested in their personal capacities.
This investment round also saw the participation of Piyush Pandey and Russell Parena.
The Mumbai-based company would deploy the new capital towards increasing its scholarship pool and for technological updates on its app, said an Economic Times report.
Launched in 2014 by Jatin Solanki and Praveen Tyagi, Eduisfun is the developer of STEPApp, which is an edtech app that makes learning easy through its gamified format by providing children conceptual clarity in math and science.
The app works on basic smartphones with low data connectivity and has been designed for students from private, central and tribal schools and features personalized question-based learning in a bite-sized format.
According to the company’s website, the app is already deployed in 16 tribal schools of Maharashtra and has tied up with residential schools run by Maharashtra’s tribal development department.
Importantly, STEPApp charges Rs 500 as the enrollment fee for participation in the scholarship exam for school students of grades 6th-12th.
It offers scholarships ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 1 crore. One top student from each grade wins a scholarship of Rs 1 crore and top 50 students from each grade are awarded scholarships of Rs 1 lakh each.
With over 150 franchisees in 67 cities, STEPApp majorly competes with BYJU’s and MarkSharks among others in this space.
