Vivek Sinha, the former Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Unacademy, has unveiled his latest venture named Beyond Odds Technologies, with an initial investment totaling $11 million. The seed funding round was spearheaded by Matrix Partners India and Lightspeed.
InnoVen Capital, a subsidiary of Temasek, and Alteria Capital, alongside other angel investors including Ritesh Agarwal (Founder of OYO), Gaurav Munjal (Founder of Unacademy), Mayank Kumar (Founder of Upgrad), Ramakant Sharma (Founder of Livspace), Abhishek Goyal (Founder of Tracxn), Rohit MA (Founder of CloudNine Hospitals), Sumer Juneja (Managing Partner at SoftBank), Puneet Kumar (Managing Director at Steadview Capital), and Abhinav Sinha (COO of OYO), also participated in the funding round.
Headquartered in Bengaluru, the startup is focused on employability-led training, certification, and recruitment services tailored for the grey-collar workforce segment, bridging employers with talent among students.
The company is set to introduce Emversity, a higher education brand, inaugurating its maiden center in Bengaluru on April 20, followed by six additional centers in cities such as Hyderabad, Delhi, Nagpur, Kochi, and Ranchi by June. These centers will offer bachelor’s degree programs, including nursing, and certification courses in collaboration with universities, as stated by the company.
According to the company, Emversity’s initial cohort will feature programs designed to fulfill skill requirements in healthcare, with partnerships established with institutions like Fortis Hospitals and Core Diagnostics for job placements and internships.
Vivek Sinha announced his departure from Unacademy in August 2023 after serving for three years. Previously, Sinha held the position of business head at Oyo from April 2018 to September 2020.
His resignation was part of a series of notable departures from Unacademy, which included chief marketing officer Karan Shroff, chief of staff Abhyudayay Rana, and chief financial officer Subramanian Ramachandran. Shroff also launched his new startup, LightFury Games, which recently secured $8.5 million in its Seed round led by Blume Ventures.
