Smartivity, an augmented reality-based education technology startup, has raised $1 million (about Rs 6.6 crore) in a pre-Series-A round of funding led by publishing firm S Chand and early-stage investment firm AdvantEdge Partners.
The round also saw participation from Singapore-based fund CFG Offshore Holdings, Silicon Valley-based fund Tandem Capital and a clutch of angel investors.
“With this round of funding, we want to expand our current portfolio in STEM and augmented reality products to provide interactive learning to kids and also develop IoT (internet of things)-enabled toys and robot-led learning for kids,” said Ashwini Kumar, Co-Founder of Smartivity.
The Delhi-based startup uses augmented reality, a technique that enables superimposing digital objects over physical ones, to help kids understand various concepts.
Smartivity has two broad product ranges—STE(A)M (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) learning-based do it-yourself kits, which have a fundamental scientific concept at the core of each activity, and Smartivity EDGE, their augmented reality-enabled learning activities.
The user has to download the Smartivity EDGE application, which is available on both Android and iOS to experience the augmented-reality platform. The company said the funds will also be used to expand its reach and aim for the global market.
“Smartivity has shown tremendous growth over the past 12 months with a high focus on product design and execution and has built a portfolio of innovative products,” said Gaurav Jhunjhnuwala, Director of S Chand Group.
Source: The Economic Times