Online learning firm AhaGuru raises Series A funding led by Anand Mahindra's family office

Chennai-based online learning firm AhaGuru has raised an undisclosed amount of funding in a Series A round led by an investment firm managed by Anand Mahindra's family office. The funds will be used to develop new technology features and online courses for high school students and increase its student base across the country as well as in West Asia. The funds will also help the company expand its team of expert teachers and mentors, says a press release.

AhaGuru was founded by Balaji Sampath and Gomathi Shanmugasundaram to research and develop solutions to the learning quality problem. AhaGuru’s research into learning gaps has helped it establish techniques to improve conceptual understanding and problem-solving abilities of students significantly.

Several of AhaGuru’s students have done well in competitive exams, says the release. AhaGuru student, Muhender Raj, secured All India Rank 4 in IIT JEE (Advanced) and 100 per cent (percentile) in JEE (Mains) that were conducted last month. Another AhaGuru student, Jay Murekar, ranked TN State First in JEE.

Over 75 per cent of AhaGuru students cleared JEE and over 95 per cent cleared NEET in 2020. This focus on learning quality has helped AhaGuru grow organically in Chennai, Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad and Kolkata and the investment from Anand Mahindra’s family office will help it scale to many more students across more geographies, says the release.

Says Anand Mahindra, “AhaGuru stands for making learning easier and understandable by deploying well-researched techniques. Their sharp focus on enhancing the quality of teaching science and math can help students grasp fundamentals more effectively. I am hopeful that AhaGuru will help Indian students build curiosity and a scientific temper."

“This funding enables us to launch new courses to help students with their school and board exams. We are also working on several new technology features to make the student learning experience richer. We are investing in Artificial Intelligence to personalise the learning experience for each student. Our predictive learning model identifies student learning patterns and suggests enhancements that improve the success rate of students,” says Balaji Sampath.

"The number of students enrolling for both our live online classes as well as our recorded video courses has tripled. Our teams are working overtime to ensure every student is learning well. This investment will help us get more teachers and provide personalised learning support to our students," says Ms Gomathi.

AhaGuru does not want to dilute its focus by expanding to lots of different subjects and exams. “We focus exclusively on science and math education for middle and high school students. Our team is constantly researching and developing better and better ways to help students master these subjects. Our courses are quite intensive and meant for serious students willing to spend 6 to 8 hours per week for each subject," says Sampath.

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