Abhaya Agarwal

AI-first edtech startup Stimuler has raised $3.75 million (approx. INR 31.9 crore) in its pre-Series A round, led by Lightspeed and Singapore-based SWC Global. Launched in 2022 by Akshay Akash, Akshat Baranwal , Ankit Kumar Pandey, and Anesh Srivastav, Stimuler offers a voice-first AI tutor that helps users improve their English-speaking skills with real-time feedback, pronunciation coaching, and conversation practice. This fresh round of funding will help the company ramp up its proprietary AI infrastructure, grow its tech team, and deepen its global reach. With users in over 150 countries notably in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and India—Stimuler is positioning itself as a leader in democratizing spoken English learning for non-native speakers in mobile-first economies. The company aims to become the go-to platform for AI-powered, accessible, and personalized English education at scale. #aiedtech #languagelearning #englishskills #emergingmarkets #startupfunding #preseriesa #voicetech #spokenenglish #lightpeedventures #swcglobal #indiastartups #globalstartups

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Can AI bridge India’s language divide? AI4Bhārat, the AI lab at Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, is making it happen with the launch of IndicTrans3-beta, a state-of-the-art multilingual translation model supporting 22 Indic languages. Designed for document-level machine translation (MT), this cutting-edge model is optimized for high accuracy and real-world applications, setting a new benchmark for Indian language AI. What makes IndicTrans3 special? Not only does it deliver on-par performance with top global translation models, but it is also open-source, ensuring that businesses, developers, and researchers can build on its advancements. AI4Bharat has also announced plans to release the training data, further accelerating innovation in the Indian AI ecosystem. Backed by visionaries, including EkStep Foundation, Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies, and BHASHINI - (Digital India BHASHINI Division) (MeitY), AI4Bharat has been a driving force in Indian language AI for the past four years. Mitesh Khapra, head of AI4Bharat, highlighted their mission to democratize AI resources, with all their models now available on Hugging Face. With IndicTrans2 already adopted by leading Indian companies, and BhasaAnuvaad setting records in speech translation datasets, AI4Bharat is redefining language AI in India. This is just the beginning—test the model today and be part of the revolution!

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Edtech unicorn PW (PhysicsWallah) has announced the price band for its much-anticipated initial public offering (IPO) at ₹103 to ₹109 per share, which could value the company at around ₹31,500 crore at the upper end. The IPO is scheduled to open for public subscription on November 11, 2025, and will close on November 13, 2025, while anchor investor bidding is set for November 10, 2025, according to the company’s Red Herring Prospectus (RHP). The issue includes a fresh share issuance of ₹3,100 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of ₹380 crore by existing shareholders. The fresh issue proceeds are expected to be used to expand PhysicsWallah’s offline and hybrid learning infrastructure, including new centres, technology upgrades, lease payments, and marketing initiatives. With this IPO, PhysicsWallah aims to solidify its presence in the fast-growing Indian edtech sector, as investors closely watch how the company balances scale with affordability. #physicswallah #ipo #edtech #india #investing #stockmarket #startup #educationtech

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Product update for taming document/certificate fraud! www.Certifi.ly is supporting India's largest digital document repository DigiLocker now. Educational institutions can issue certificates via Certifi and students can sync all documents to their private DigiLocker with one click. #edtech #educationalinstitutions #schools #university #education Dapper Labs

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Edtech firms are shifting their focus to a business-to-business (B2B) model for stable revenues, Rwit Ghosh reports for Mint. Amid rising demand for AI talent, firms like Simplilearn, upGrad, and Scaler are re-defining their revenue models by focusing on enterprises, GCCs, and public sector clients looking to reskill and redeploy talent in AI-intensive roles, the report says. upGrad Enterprise, for instance, expects B2B to make up 30-35% of its business in a few years, up from 20% today. “Enterprise learning is built on speed and precision, where organisations need their talent to acquire and apply skills to drive performance”, says Srikanth Iyengar, CEO of upGrad Enterprise. Simplilearn already derives 30% of its revenue from enterprise clients across four key verticals – IT/ITES, manufacturing, PSUs, and BFSI. The edtech player expects to reach a 50-50 split between its consumer and enterprise business in the next two to three years, the report says further. Scaler, another online learning company, which entered B2B fray this year, is targeting companies with 2,000–20,000 employees and Indian GCCs. Identifying the training of GCC staff as a key revenue stream, Abhimanyu Saxena, co-founder of Scaler says, “In the first year, revenue from enterprise will be sizeable.” The company expects B2B to contribute 10-20% of its revenues in FY26. Meanwhile, another report by The Economic Times shows how companies across India Inc like Vedanta, Schneider Electric, SAP Labs, and Accenture India, among others are now making AI training a company-wide imperative. They are investing in equipping employees with the essential AI skills to help them stay relevant in a technology-driven world. “I can’t see a better time for edtechs to target B2B as a segment,” said Amit Nawka, Technology Deals Partner at PwC India. “AI is disrupting everything, and everyone wants to be on top of their game”, he added. Do you think that this new revenue strategy will work for the edtech sector? Share your thoughts in the comments section. ✍ : Nakul Ghai 📷 : Getty Images Source: Mint: https://lnkd.in/gneGM9Rg The Economic Times: https://lnkd.in/gagDh9mS #Edtech #Onlinelearning #Enterprisedeals #B2B Are you an industry expert looking to build your presence on LinkedIn? Fill this form to receive additional support, resources, and opportunities from LinkedIn's editorial team. https://lnkd.in/gi6FR9cZ

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India's EdTech sector is set to grow from $7.5B to $29B by 2030!🚀 That's just one of the game-changing insights from the latest IAMAI report. In collaboration with IAMAI Design and Innovation Committee,Grant Thornton Bharat LLP, and Infinity Learn, we uncovered key takeaways on EdTech’s economic impact: 💰GDP Impact: From 0.1% in 2020 to 0.4% by 2029 💼75,000+ jobs created in 5-7 years 🚀USD 14B in funding and 7 unicorns shaping the future of education. The sector is driving massive growth and innovation—check out the full report for deeper insights!

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🚀 Chanakya Technology Translation Fellowships – IIT Indore, India The Chanakya Technology Translation Fellowship at IIT Indore (IITI DRISHTI CPS Foundation) supports deep-tech researchers to: Build market-ready prototypes and products File patents and protect IP Collaborate with industry, hospitals, and technology partners Explore startup and commercialization pathways This is a powerful opportunity for PhD scholars, postdocs, and early-career researchers who want to stay in India while working at global standards of innovation. https://lnkd.in/gvF8wmrG #ChanakyaFellowship #IITIndore #DRISHTICPS #CyberPhysicalSystems #DigitalTwin #Industry4_0 #DeepTech #ResearchToImpact #InnovationIndia #CareerAidHub

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In this week's AI edition: AI PCs are gaining traction but some buyers are still confused about the benefits. By Subhrojit Mallick & Annapurna Roy Tech giants battle through coding agents. By Swathi Moorthy Charticle on smart AI devices by Himanshi Lohchab & more in @EconomicTimes

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How do machine learning models process languages that pack tense, gender, number, and case information into single word forms? For initiatives like #BHASHINI, understanding and properly handling morphological richness is crucial for creating accurate translation and speech recognition systems that can serve India's linguistically diverse population effectively. Know more from Prof. Pushpak Bhattacharyya on #TechBehindBhashini. #TechBehindBHASHINI #Season2 #MachineTranslation  #ComputationalLinguistics Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology Narendra Modi Ashwini Vaishnaw Jitin Prasada S Krishnan Abhishek Singh Amitabh Nag Kavita Bhatia Digital India Programme Shailendra Pal Singh Ajay singh Rajawat Lureiliu Kamei Deepika Pathak Tarun Pandey IIT Bombay Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay Pushpak Bhattacharyya Vijay Kumar Dr. Swaran Lata Rajeev Sangal Krishna Kishore Asha Singh India DST Abhay Karandikar Indian National Science Academy - INSA Department of Biotechnology CSIR India Ministry of Earth Sciences MyGov India ISRO - Indian Space Research Organization Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) NATIONAL RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION Indian National Science Academy - INSA AU-KBC RESEARCH CENTRE Anna University Chennai Viva Technology

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Funding Alert | EdTech x AI Cuepilot AI, a voice-first, AI-native platform for preschools and daycares, has successfully raised $1.8 million in pre-seed funding. The round was led by Unilazer Ventures Private Limited, backed by Ronnie Screwvala (Founder, upGrad), with participation from Eximius Ventures and Titan Capital. This fresh capital will help CuePilot strengthen its voice and AI orchestration stack, launch integrations across key global markets, and scale its go-to-market strategy in India, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. The company also has its sights set on expanding into the United States, driven by higher ARPU and strong payment volumes. Founded by Ankur Agarwal, Manav Kedia, and Adithya Narayanan, CuePilot is tackling real operational challenges faced by preschools and daycare centres, where fragmented tools, manual processes, and legacy systems add unnecessary workload for educators and administrators. CuePilot brings it all together through a unified, intelligent, voice-led platform. Exciting times ahead for AI-powered early childhood education and operational excellence! #FundingNews #StartupIndia #EdTech #AI #VoiceAI #PreschoolTech #EarlyEducation #VentureCapital #StartupEcosystem #CuePilotAI #Corpbiz

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Entrackr has been top on actions in edtech space. We first broke the PhysicsWalla-Drishti IAS acqistion talks in March. Last week, we reported that deal has been called-off as Drishti wants to explore independent path. Drishti confirmed that they called off the deal on Sat.

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'How Chinese 'Little Giants' Made It, And Lessons For India's MSME Sector' https://lnkd.in/dD2wTHwG (LINK) ...interesting read. Some good lessons. "China’s SME ecosystem thrives on a meticulously structured, pyramid cultivation system — a hierarchical framework where firms compete for government recognition, incentives, and financial support. Much like a sports coach scouting for Olympic talent, Beijing continually holds nationwide tryouts, identifying the most promising SMEs through rigorous assessments of their economic and technological capabilities, reports a recent Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS) study. The best-performing firms earn prestigious titles and access to resources that propel them onto the global stage." Prashant Girbane Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture, Pune (MCCIA) Sanjay Kirloskar Anand Deshpande Deepak Karandikar Dr. Sudhir Mehta

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