Funding: PlanetSpark Secures $ 13.5 Million in Funding Led by Prime Venture Partners

Startup Edtech PlanetSpark raised $ 13.5 million in a Series B funding round led by Prime Venture Partners and other angel investors.

The company said it would use the funding for product development, hiring senior executives and for global expansion.

Other investors who participated in the round include Binny Bansal, Deep Kalra, Ashish Gupta, Gokul Rajaram and Shirish Nadkarni.

The company previously raised $ 3.7 million from Prime Ventures, FIITJEE and several angel networks. The latest round brings the total amount raised by the company to $ 17.2 million.

Founded in 2017 by Kunal Malik and Maneesh Dhooper, PlanetSpark is a platform that helps children become better communicators. It offers private lessons in public speaking and creative writing for children aged four to 16. The program includes storytelling, debate, podcasting, comedy and poetry.

The company, which is growing 30% month-over-month, has coached students with more than one million classes in 13 countries. “We have grown 45 times over the past year and plan to grow another 30 times over the next two years,” the company said in a statement.

Kunal Malik, co-founder of PlanetSpark, said communication skills are the most basic and desirable skills that parents want to impart to their children. However, these skills are rarely taught anywhere. “Until now, parents never thought that there was a reliable and structured option to develop their children’s communication skills. With live learning maturing over the past two years, we are the first global company to structure a program on new age communication skills for children, ”he said.

Besides India, the company is present in the United States, West Asia and Europe. “The company will use the new funds to penetrate deeper into existing markets and expand into new geographies,” the statement said.

“India offers a pool of 1.8 million potential and current English teachers who can pass these skills on to the world. We plan to hire 50,000 teachers on our platform by the end of 2022. Overall, this is a golden opportunity to develop the global leader in communication skills that did not exist. so far, ”said Maneesh Dhooper, co-founder of PlanetSpark.

According to the company, the global market for communication skills is over $ 80 billion and remains largely untapped.

“Everyone learns a language but few learn to communicate well. Communication skills are going to be a defining skill in the 21st century, ”said Amit Somani, Partner, Prime Venture Partners.

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