Hobit, an interactive learning platform for non-academic skills, has raised $200,000 in a seed round of funding.
The funding round saw participation from strategic investors including Vaibhav Mittal, Varun Hangloo, Rachit Poddar, Rajesh Gupta, Sharad Todi, IVY Growth Associates, and Marwari Catalysts Ventures. According to a news release, IVY Growth Associates played a huge role in raising the round and added a few other strategic investors from Nagpur, Kolkata, and Mumbai.
Founded in 2020 by Gaurav Dua, Arpit Tyagi, and Lakshay Rohilla, Hobit is an experiential virtual learning platform that connects passionate mentors and learners through live mentoring, interactive learning experiences, and community building. The startup claims to provide 360-degree solutions, empowering skills, knowledge, and bringing to life the dreams of potentially hundreds of millions of students from all walks of life across the nation. Currently, the platform has more than 50k users and over 50 tutors from three countries: India, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates.
Talking about the company, Gaurav Dua, Co-founder of Hobit, said,
“Our goal is to help you learn in the best way possible, across categories and mediums. The next decade will see new paradigms of learning and for this, we’re building a new model of community and learning that is a fundamental evolution of EdTech.”
Hobit has developed a leveled curriculum with leading artists as well as pedagogy experts, and the courses are delivered online in live classes by experienced educators and award-winning artists, in the convenience of home.
Commenting on the investment, Varun Hangloo said,
“Hobit is perfectly positioned to capture the fast-growing online hobby learning market in India and abroad since it’s solving critical problems of affordability, community engagement, and delivering quality learning outcomes in this sector, with its ‘Bharat’ focused Hobby-tech platform.”
Hobit said it will use the funds to strategically allocate for strengthening the technology & product, developing new courses, user base expansion, strengthening the team, and accelerating its growth in order to expand its footprint in India and international markets.
Adding further about the company, Arpit Tyagi, Co-founder, Hobit, said,
“In a world full of content and consumption, what is scarce is engagement and interaction through live mentorship and community. We have seen increasing validation for our business model and overwhelming adoption from our learners to immerse themselves in our live-learning experience and communities, especially college students, working professionals, and homemakers.”
According to Lakshay Rohilla, Co-Founder, Hobit, the platform is seeing high engagement especially from Tier II & Tier III cities of India, and the team is constantly working to diversify its courses and community offerings, expand into more Tier-II and Tier-III cities, promote burgeoning talent, and implement global alliances.
Hobit has seen aggressive growth in terms of users, content, and engagement since its launch in 2020. The startup plans to increase its bandwidth and develop dedicated solutions in the near future.
