Edtech startup NxtWave raises $33 mn, Greater Pacific Capital leads round

Nandan Desai, MD and Co-Head of India for GPC, to join NxtWave Board as part of deal; Existing investor Orios Venture Partners also invests in round

Upskilling platform NxtWave has raised $33 million in a funding round led by Greater Pacific Capital (GPC), an international private equity firm. NxtWave’s existing venture investor Orios Venture Partners also participated in the round.

Nandan Desai, MD and Co-Head of India for GPC, will join NxtWave's Board as part of the deal.

The funds raised will be used by the company to scale its platform to multiple geographies across the country. It also aims to onboard over 10,000 companies to hire its learners.

“We’re excited to have GPC as a new partner in our journey. Making India a powerhouse of technologies starts with upskilling our youth. Together, we’ll bring high-quality, employability-focused education to India’s youth and equip them for the jobs of the future at scale. With NEP 2020, the Indian Government has created a highly supportive environment for skill-based learning. This decade belongs to India,” said Rahul Attuluri, co-founder and CEO of NxtWave.

Founded by Sashank Reddy Gujjula, Anupam Pedarla and Rahul Attuluri, NxtWave is aiming to build India’s largest online employability platform for new-age technology careers.

“India has world-class engineering institutes, and as the country positions itself as one of the leaders of the information era, it needs to build the capacity to provide quality learning, particularly in artificial intelligence, for 500 million young Indians," said Ketan Patel, founder and CEO, GPC.

"Leveraging technology to fill this gap is the key to unlocking India's economic potential and providing quality employment to its youth, which NxtWave is doing. We are excited to partner with NxtWave to rapidly scale its platform and provide access to high-quality education and training for India's youth for this exciting global growth area,” he added.

Avendus Capital acted as the exclusive financial advisor to NxtWave on the transaction. Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co and Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas acted as legal counsel to NxtWave and GPC, respectively.