Alumni engagement platform Vaave raises maiden external funding

Vaave, an alumni engagement and networking platform, has raised Rs 6.6 crore in its first major external funding round, led by Aditya Vuchi (VCMint) and Raj Narayanam (RAN Ventures, founder & executive chairman of Zaggle). 

The Hyderabad-based startup was bootstrapped and has so far been backed by friends and a handful of angel investors.

The proceeds will be used to expand into new markets, enhance product offerings, and strengthen its category leadership in alumni networking. 

Founded by Paresh Masade along with Yasaswy Peesapati and Jaipal Reddy, Vaave’s business model centers on providing subscription-based SaaS solutions for educational institutions and corporates to strengthen alumni ecosystems, improve engagement. 

It partners with over 1,200 institutions across 28 countries, including IISc, IITs, IIMs, NITs, and IIITs, and also powers 35 corporate alumni platforms for companies such as Tata Steel, Deloitte, Virtusa, and Bosch.

Vaave competes with platforms like Almabase, Graduway, and Hivebrite, which also focus on alumni engagement globally.