PedalStart leads UpKraft’s Rs 1.6 Cr Pre-seed round for extracurricular learning
In a pre-seed investment round headed by PedalStart and involving a number of angel investors, the extracurricular learning platform UpKraft has raised Rs 1.6 crore.
According to a press release from UpKraft, the money raised will be used to develop AI products more quickly, increase its presence in Bengaluru and Gurugram, improve its technology platform, operations, and customer experience, and create teams for product, technology, growth, sales, and tutoring.
UpKraft is an AI-powered extracurricular learning platform that was co-founded in July 2025 by Tejasvi Singh Kushwah, Varun Mangal, and Kritika Varandani. Through verified expert tutors, it provides structured learning at home, in residential communities, and in schools.
The Bengaluru-based business claims that by combining standardized, level-based curricula with AI tools like its AI Practice Companion and Progress Insights, it helps children develop skills while providing parents with information about their progress. According to the company, it has collaborated with residential communities in Bengaluru and Gurugram and created standardized learning programs in music and other extracurricular subjects.
UpKraft intends to boost student enrollment, broaden its reach throughout Bengaluru and Gurugram, enhance learning outcomes, and fortify teams in the areas of product and engineering, AI and data science, sales and business development, community and field marketing, customer success, and tutor onboarding and operations over the course of the next 12 to 18 months.
Early-stage startups are the primary focus of PedalStart, an operator-led startup accelerator. Through its network of investors and operators, it collaborates with founders on market expansion, operations, and growth strategy in addition to providing financing.
