Aakash Institute co-founder Aakash Chaudhry, ISB DLabs invests $500,000 in MU20

MU20 has raised $500,000 in a pre-seed funding round from education entrepreneur Aakash Chaudhry and the Indian School of Business (Hyderabad).

The startup will use the raised capital to strengthen its AI-native career acceleration engine, improve personalised career and opportunity recommendations for students, and scale pilots across its growing network of partner schools.

Founded by Tejas K. Jain, ISB ivi Valedictorian and Madhur Oza with guidance from Dr. Sumer B. Singh (President, MU20), the platform combines an always-available AI mentor (MU20 Coach), university-powered clubs, and in-school Career Incubation Labs to give students structured exposure to entrepreneurship, AI & data, design, policy, research and more.

MU20 claims it works with 300+ schools and reached tens of thousands of students through summits, challenges and experiential programs, and is now productising that experience into a scalable offering built at ISB DLabs.

“For decades, career guidance has been a one-time conversation in Grade 10 or 12,” said Tejas K. Jain, Co-founder & CEO of MU20.

“But the brain, especially during adolescence, is constantly changing, learning, and rewiring. Careers should not be a last-minute form; they should be a four-to-six-year incubation journey. With MU20, we want every student, not just the privileged few to have an AI mentor, a portfolio of real work, university-powered exposure, and a clear story to tell when they apply to college or jobs,” he added.

“A child’s brain is most plastic during adolescence, that’s when careers should be incubated, not decided overnight,” said Aakash Chaudhry, Founder & Managing Director, Sparkl Edventure Pvt. Ltd. (Ex co-founder Aakash Educational Services Limited – AESL), “MU20 brings rigor and continuity to career discovery by combining AI, early exposure and deep school partnerships.”