ExtraaEdge Raises $1Mn In Pre-Series A Round From Pentathlon Ventures, 9Unicorns And Others The platform aims to use the funding for increasing its customer base, bolstering product development and data science team, as well as expanding into the international markets

Pune-based marketing tech startup ExtraaEdge that focuses on the education sector on Wednesday said that it has raised $1 million in a pre-Series A round from 9Unicorns Accelerator Fund. The round was led by Pentathlon Ventures and also saw participation from other investment firms i.e. Indian Angel Network, Faad Network, and DevX Innovation. Prominent angels like Monish Darda, Manasij Ganguly, and Aditya Somani also participated in the round along with the existing investors Sprout Venture Partners and TiE Pune Angels.

The funds raised will be used for increasing its customer base, bolstering product development primarily in the area of robotic process automation and data science team, as well as expanding into the international markets. ExtraaEdge has currently launched operations in the UAE and the UK, which are well-known international education destinations.

"The onset of COVID-19 has accelerated the digital adoption in the education sector. Conventional marketing processes have now been digitized. Education institutes and other important stakeholders of the ecosystem are on the lookout for a technology stack to run their admissions process in a seamless manner. Although new business models are getting validated in the education industry along with a new age technology stack, student acquisition is still a white space. ExtraaEdge is building that stack via leveraging the power of machine learning and new-age marketing automation to make admission predictable. We currently enable over 225 education brands to digitally acquire the next thousands of GenZ and millennial students. This fund-raise will help us cement our category leadership as the leading admission technology player in the Indian market, double down on product capabilities to power admission teams, and look at a wider global expansion," said Abhishek Ballabh, co-founder, ExtraaEdge.

Founded in 2015 by Abhishek Ballabh and Sushil Mundada, the platform leverages its full-stack revenue assurance platform and CRM software to help the education industry increase, manage and predict their admissions while automating their entire sales and leads processes. Its goal is to empower admission teams across the globe to make smart, data-driven decisions to maximize admission outcomes, optimize market expenditure, and boost conversion rates.

"Technological disruption has brought educational institutes face-to-face with Digital Darwinism. As institutes evolve to survive, we are seeing an exciting shift in how they leverage marketing automation and predictive analytics to acquire customers. This is a billion-dollar opportunity that ExtraaEdge is capturing at an impressive rate. Their team and product exhibit the DNA of scale, proven by a solid client base and consistent ARR growth despite the pandemic. This strong DNA, the energy, maturity, and know-how that Abhishek and Sushil possess make us confident that ExtraaEdge will emerge as a winner," remarked Sandeep Chawda, partner, Pentathlon Ventures.

The cloud-based student acquisition platform currently manages the entire range of operations from outreach and marketing to admission and recruitment of more than 200 education institutes in India and overseas. Some of the solutions offered by the platform include vertical CRM, marketing automation, conversational AI bots, application management software, predictive analytics, and mobile CRM.

"We were quite impressed with the team's execution capabilities. Abhishekand& Sushil are founders who have found a product-market fit in this domain which is existential for success and we found them persistent and passionate. The budget allocation of digital marketing across sectors has consistently increased in the past few years and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. In sync with the education sector, the demand for a platform that can leverage the power of AI for predicting admissions and increasing conversion rates has also surged. ExtraaEdge is addressing this need-gap which is an untapped market yet. Their ability to use data analytics to drive client acquisition and streamline the admission process makes them well-equipped to disrupt India's education market valued at $1.5 billion. The startup's innovative approach will be the recipient of countless positive feedbacks from the burgeoning education industry and we are thrilled to be their partner on this journey," added Dr. Apoorv Ranjan Sharma, co-founder and managing director, 9Unicorns.

The software also helps users to identify and prioritize the right prospects and gain in-depth insights and feedback into their overall marketing and team performance in the form of analytical reports, the company shared.