Corporate training startup Disprz gets $2.6 mn in Series A round

Disprz, which offers an employee development and engagement platform for enterprises, has raised $2.5 million (around Rs 16.5 crore) in a Series A round of funding from IL&FS Private Equity and existing investor Kae Capital.

The startup, previously called Learntron, said in a statement that it plans to use the money to boost its data science capabilities and expand to overseas markets.

Founded in 2015, Disprz provides educational training and content through a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model.
“We bring the latest trends in modern workforce learning and engagement like micro-learning, gamification, ‘chat-based learning’ and AI-based recommendations into a single unified platform,” said co-founder and chief executive officer Subramanian Viswanathan.

Among Disprz's clients include Naspers, Mahindra, Motilal Oswal, Chaayos, Quess Corp and Thyrocare.

Run by Heuristix Digital Technologies Pvt. Ltd, the Chennai-based company currently has offices in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Middle East, and the US.

“Having won our early clients in the US, we now have a clear roadmap to go much deeper into the US market,” said Shubhankar Bhattacharya, venture partner at Kae Capital.

Viswanathan and Kuljit Chada are Disprz's co-founders.

Viswanathan is an alumnus of Indian Institute of Technology-Madras and Indian School of Business, and previously worked with McKinsey.

Kuljit Chada is also an alumnus of Indian School of Business and went on to work with Reliance MediaWorks, EY and Cleartrip.

Disprz was among the startups picked for technology giant Oracle’s Startup Cloud Accelerator programme last year. 

Among other deals in the space, corporate training services provider Work Better Training Pvt. Ltd raised an angel round of funding from the diversified Dempo Group in January. 

In January last year, Chennai-based training simulator maker Skillveri Training Solutions Pvt. Ltd had raised Rs 8 crore ($1.1 million) in a Series A round led by global philanthropic organisation Michael and Susan Dell Foundation.

IL&FS PE
IL&FS Investment Managers Ltd, or IL&FS PE, is one of the country’s largest home-grown private equity firms in terms of assets under management (AUM).

It completed the fundraising process for its most recent sector-agnostic growth fund, which garnered $60 million (Rs 406 crore), in late-2016. 

This fund has a mandate to chase deals in sectors such as healthcare, education, clean energy, financial inclusion, food and agriculture, water and urban infrastructure.

IL&FS PE invests across three asset classes, including real estate and infrastructure besides the sector-agnostic growth funds.

Last September, the firm invested in Transerve Technologies, which offers geospatial technology-based software-as-a-service solutions for sustainable growth and urban planning, as part of a $1.6 million (Rs 10.5 crore) Series A round.

Kae Capital
Founded in 2010, Kae Capital invests in early-stage companies and had provided seed funding to Disprz's earlier avatar, Learntron, in January last year. 

The sector-agnostic investment firm has nearly 40 companies in its portfolio, according to its website. It previously invested in and exited about a dozen companies including InMobi, Myntra, ZipDial and Fractal Analytics.

It recently invested an undisclosed amount in digital lending startup Loanzen, which offers loans to small companies in the logistics sector, as part of a pre-Series A round.

In January, Chennai-based online video software service provider Hippo Video, which is run by Lyceum Technologies Pvt. Ltd, raised an undisclosed amount in a pre-Series A round of funding from Kae Capital.

Among its other recent investments include Mumbai-based fantasy sports platform HalaPlay, and Bengaluru-based gaming startup Hypernova Interactive.