Kraftshala, an edtech startup, has raised an undisclosed amount in a pre-Series A funding round. The round also saw participation from a mix of existing and new investors, including Phanindra Sama (Founder and ex-CEO, redBus), Sujayath Ali (co-founder and COO, ShopUp), Pallav Jain (co-founder and ex-CEO, Performics India), and Tie Nizamabad, amongst others.
The fresh capital raised will be used to launch new offerings, with Kraftshala’s core business being profitable.
Varun Satia, Founder and CEO of Kraftshala, said, “Our focus has always been on creating measurable career impact, and this funding allows us to scale that mission even further. Delivering success for 90%+ of your students and recruiting partners across so many batches requires being great at admissions, training, placements, operations and everything in between- day after day, month after month and I am very proud of the team which has achieved this. We are now well poised to expand into new markets and domains and continue building high-quality, job-oriented learning experiences.”
Phanindra Sama, Founder and ex-CEO, redBus and an investor in Kraftshala, said “Kraftshala’s growth is proof that a skills-first approach is what the industry truly values. Their graduates are securing outstanding placements, earning fast-tracked career growth, and proving that the right skills can open doors for you, despite your backgrounds. In fact, we are seeing similarly strong results in the Kakatiya Sandbox, a non-profit where we skill 1000s of rural youth and secure 95% placements. This funding will help accelerate Kraftshala’s reach and impact.”
Founded in 2016 by Varun Satia and Eshu Sharma, Kraftshala is an edtech startup. Kraftshala runs job-linked programs in marketing and sales, with an industry-best rate of 94% across 25 batches of the Marketing Launchpad Program and 2 batches of PGP in Sales and Business Leadership.
Kraftshala claims to have trained thousands of students and facilitated over 2,000 direct placements in marketing and sales.
Kraftshala said that it has seen a revenue growth of more than 100% in the current Jan-Mar quarter, even as the cost of acquisition has dipped by 30% y-o-y. The company reported an internship-to-full-time job conversion rate of 94% in Feb, far surpassing the 10-50% conversion rates typically seen in other institutions, underscoring the real-world impact of its programs.
