Nexus, Omidyar, Owl Ventures invest $10 mn in ed-tech start-up WhiteHat Jr

Education technology (ed-tech) start-up WhiteHat Jr on Tuesday announced raising $10-million Series-A funding from existing investors Nexus Venture Partners and Omidyar Network India. Owl Ventures, a Silicon Valley-based ed-tech focused venture capital fund, also participated in this round.  

Founded by former Discovery Networks CEO Karan Bajaj, WhiteHat Jr helps children of ages six to 14 to build commercial-ready games, animations and apps online using the fundamentals of coding. The company, started in November 2018, had earlier raised $1.3 million in seed funding from Nexus Venture Partners and Omidyar Network India. 

WhiteHat Jr has developed its coding curriculum, which is centered on product creation, and imparts lessons via 1:1 interactive online classes. The proceeds will be used to strengthen its technology platform, expand the course curriculum and increase consumer awareness. 

Over the past few months, the company claims its online platform has seen over 150,000 student trials, 500 teachers coming on board, and students and revenue doubling every month.

Commenting on the development, CEO Karan Bajaj said, "We want to harness the natural creativity of kids and shift their mindset from an early age -- from being consumers to creators of technology."

Anup Gupta, managing director, Nexus Venture Partners, said, "We are excited to strengthen our association with WhiteHat Jr's mission of creating the next generation of innovators and thinkers."

Amit A Patel, managing director, Owl Ventures, said, "WhiteHat Jr has created something that is unique, scalable and very relevant, not only in India but across other markets." 

Namita Dalmia, principal-investments, Omidyar Network India, added, "We invested in WhiteHat Jr with an aim of improving cognitive skills and we are heartened to see the impact of its curriculum on kids through improvements in creativity, concentration and logical thinking as well as teachers who are highly educated women tech professionals returning to the workforce."