AI-powered extracurricular learning startup UpKraft has raised ₹1.6 crore in a pre-seed funding round led by PedalStart, with participation from a group of angel investors. The fresh capital will support the company’s product innovation, market expansion, and team growth as it scales its personalized learning platform.
According to the company, the funding will be utilized to accelerate AI product development, strengthen its technology platform, enhance customer experience, expand operations across Bengaluru and Gurugram, and build teams spanning product, technology, growth, sales, and tutor operations.
Founded in July 2025 by Tejasvi Singh Kushwah, Varun Mangal, and Kritika Varandani, UpKraft is building an AI-driven extracurricular learning ecosystem that enables students to learn skills through verified expert tutors at home, in residential communities, and within schools.
The Bengaluru-based startup combines artificial intelligence with structured, level-based learning programs to create personalized learning experiences. Its proprietary AI tools, including the AI Practice Companion and Progress Insights, provide students with guided learning support while enabling parents to track their children’s progress through detailed performance insights.
UpKraft has developed standardized curricula across music and several other extracurricular disciplines. The company has also partnered with multiple residential communities across Bengaluru and Gurugram to make quality extracurricular education more accessible to students.
Over the next 12 to 18 months, the startup aims to significantly increase student enrollments, deepen its presence in Bengaluru and Gurugram, enhance learning outcomes through AI-driven personalization, and strengthen teams across product engineering, AI and data science, sales, business development, community marketing, customer success, and tutor onboarding.
The investment also brings strategic backing from PedalStart, an operator-led startup accelerator that supports early-stage startups with funding, operational guidance, growth strategy, and market expansion through its network of experienced founders, operators, and investors.
As demand for personalized, technology-enabled education continues to grow, UpKraft is positioning itself at the intersection of EdTech, AI, and extracurricular learning, aiming to transform how students develop creative and life skills beyond traditional academics.
By: Arushi Agarwal
