With schools shut, and students and teachers restricted indoors, the pandemic became a big catalyst for the adoption of online learning.
According to IBEF, the online education market is expected to grow by $2.28 billion at a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of more than 20 percent. Overall, the Indian education sector was valued at $117 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach $225 billion by 2025.
But with the world now opening up rapidly in the post-pandemic era, online learning has given way to hybrid education. Realising the importance of personalised teaching, new edtech apps are coming up with hybrid models that blend online and offline elements.
Here are some practice-based, personalised learning platforms that will enable students to ace their way in the exams.
SpeEdLabs
Mumbai-based , founded in 2015 by Vivek Varshney, is a personalised practice platform that uses a combination of artificial intelligence and adaptive learning to ensure personalised learning for each student.
The startup focuses on deep conceptual learning to enable real-world application, particularly in the science and mathematics domains.
This is applicable to students from Class 7th to 12th and those preparing for competitive examinations like JEE and NEET. Students have access to thousands of questions and practice papers, test series etc, and all their practice is tracked, mapped and analysed on this system.
The platform offers personalised analytics insights into what the student must focus on, their areas of weakness, and also allows them to strengthen their core concepts by offering learning and doubt-clearing sessions and mentoring.
In 2022, SpeEdLabs raised Rs 14.31 crore in a Pre-Series A funding round led by Mumbai Angels and other investors to boost its infrastructure and expansion.
Meritnation
Delhi-based , founded by Pavan Chauhan and Ritesh Hemrajani, is an online education portal that provides interactive study materials for Classes 1 to 12.
The startup enhances the stay-at-home study experience with features like live interactive classes that are powered by cutting-edge technology, videos, in-class quizzes, analytics, and animations.
The startup claims to be a one-stop solution for students, right from aiding with homework, doubt-clearing sessions, video lessons, sample papers, mock tests, easy revision notes, and helping with previous year’s board papers.
Merination also has courses for entrance exams like IIT-JEE, NEET, CA CPT, and other exams like BBA and NDA.
Doubtnut
Gurugram-based , founded by Tanushree Nagori and Aditya Shankar in 2017, leverages technology to help students with instant explanations and answers to their study questions.
The startup focuses on mathematics for students in classes 6–9 as well as those preparing for IIT-JEE and other entrance tests.
It uses complex machine learning (ML), algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI) image recognition technology to show video lessons in response to photos of text problems.
If a student has any doubt about math problems, they can click a picture, upload it and will get a video solution to the query within a few seconds, according to the startup. The app has mathematics courses for NCERT (classes 6–12), IIT-JEE, including videos, books, and PDFs.
Adda247
Gurugram-based , founded in 2010 by Anil Nagar and Saurabh Bansal, offers products like on-demand video courses, mock tests, live-video classes, and books focused on government examinations.
The startup offers courses for various competitive exams, including SSC, GATE, JEE, NEET, UPSC, teaching exams, defence exams, and state exams.
The startup says it’s on a mission to take quality education to the masses and create a level playing field in terms of access to quality content, affordable pricing, personalised learning, and vernacular content.
Adda247 targets learners outside metro cities and offers courses in vernacular languages like Telugu, Odia, Malayalam, Bengali, and Tamil.
In November 2021, the startup raised $20 million in Series B round led by WestBridge Capital, Asha Impact, JM Financials, and Info Edge for technology, product development, and hiring.
Toppr
Mumbai-based Toppr, founded by Zishaan Hayath and Hemanth Goteti in 2013, is an online exam preparation platform.
The startup uses machine learning, artificial intelligence, and big data to analyse student behaviour and offers a curated learning medium for various school boards and competitive examinations.
Toppr is backed by the likes of Eight Road Ventures, Milestone Trustee Services, Alteria Capital, SAIF Partners, Kaizenvest, and Axis Capital Partners.
The startup is home to several platforms, including the Adda247 mobile app, the Adda247 YouTube channel, TeachersAdda, Career Power, BankersAdda, and SSCAdda.
In July 2020, Toppr raised Rs 350 crore in Series D, led by Foundation Holdings and Kaizen Private Equity, to enhance its technology platforms and make learning for students more personalised.
