A skill training company, iSTAR Skill Development, has raised ₹10 crore ($1.5 million) in Series A funding from the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation. Unitus Seed Fund, an early investor in the company, also participated in this Series A financing round. iSTAR provides skill training and recruitment services for undergraduate students from arts and science colleges across India.

iSTAR raised the seed round from Unitus in April 2013 when it was present only in Bengaluru. It has since expanded its footprint across South India, training and providing placement to over 17,000 students. Even before it raised money from Unitus, iSTAR had received early-stage funding from the National Skill Development Corporation and the Centre for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship at IIM Ahmedabad. Surga Thilakan and Sreeraman Vaidyanathan, alumni of IIM Ahmedabad, have set up iSTAR.

The venture plans to use the money to expand its college footprint across 10 States, invest in technology and e-learning platforms and to build new content.

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