The COVID-19 pandemic forever altered the way students were taught, and changed educational approaches through technology. Once a relatively rare practice, homeschooling grew rapidly in popularity during the pandemic and post that. Surveys have indicated factors including dissatisfaction with neighbourhood schools, concerns about school environment and the appeal of customising education, drawing students towards homeschooling. Along with that, technology too bridged a critical gap – it made quality education accessible to all, blurring the borders between countries and remote areas.
Homeschooling is an established market in Europe and the US, and is well on its way in reaching other markets swiftly. As per recent data, the number of homeschooling students increased by 63 percent in the 2020-21 school year.
Mumbai-based edtech startup Birla Brainiacs has witnessed this change all too closely. The impressive upward trajectory since their launch recently led them to raise pre-series A funding at a pre-money valuation of $9 million. The round was led by Sunit Gajbhiye and Rohit Gajbhiye, Founders of Financepeer who are also active angel investors.
Making learning fun and enjoyable
Nirvaan Birla, Founder and CEO, Birla Brainiacs
Founded in 2019 by Nirvaan Birla and supported by a team of IIT and IIM graduates, Birla Brainiacs is a hybrid homeschooling platform for kids from Nursery to 12th grade. It aims to inspire and empower students with modern skills and knowledge in a fun and experiential way. The platform helps students optimise their time for the school curriculum as well as allocate time to pursue their passions.
With 150+ hybrid centres pan-India, the focus of the platform is not just limited to the school curriculum; it also offers courses on coding, communication skills, financial literacy, vlogging, and more. In fact, Birla Brainiacs does not believe in the traditional schooling system and aims at providing quality education to students across the country – even in remote areas with the help of technology. Their curriculum sharpens critical thinking, reasoning skills and memory through practice exercises, instructional videos, and a personalised learning dashboard that empowers learners to study at their own pace in and outside of the classroom.
It is observed globally that homeschoolers do incredibly well when it comes to fighting for seats in the best colleges around the world. This is also because the homeschooled kids are raised on the principle of curiosity and creativity as opposed to a stringent, monotonous exam system, which mirrors the requirements of higher education across the world.
Expansion plans and growth
With this investment, Birla Brainiacs hopes to accelerate its next phase of growth and expand operations in India, Middle East, Europe, and America and also enhance products in UI and AI. While their technology enabled them to reach students in the remotest parts of the country, the team hopes to expand its reach even further with this investment.
“Our vision is to democratise quality education. We have had an overwhelming response from our students and parents who are looking for hybrid homeschooling, develop real life skills, and pursue passion-based careers. BB pedagogy has also been globally acknowledged and has gained traction in Asia, Middle East, and Europe. The new round of funding will enable Brainiacs to expand on a pan-India basis as well as reach out to new geographies within the next three to four years with 1 lakh plus students,” said Nirvaan Birla, Founder and CEO, Birla Brainiacs.
Sunit added, “We are excited to be a part of their growth story and support their vision of creating stress-free learning clubbed with life skills development right from the early stage. We see Brainiacs business model as a unique way which offers a hybrid model – best of both the worlds – offline + online.”
As Birla Brainiacs goes from strength to strength, it will be interesting to see how they continue to touch lives, improve the quality of education, and allow students to optimise their time for school curriculum as well as allocate time to pursue their passion.
