Getty ImagesLearning and community platform FrontRow has raised $3.2 million in seed funding, led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, Elevation Capital (formerly SAIF Partners), and actress Deepika Padukone.
The platform offers classes by celebrities in creative arts and sports, including singer Neha Kakkar, cricketer Suresh Raina, and comedian Biswa Kalyan Rath, among others.
The company said it has had thousands of beta users participating in its pre-launch community groups.
“Each one of them recalled that they faced problems while learning as well, and they wished they had access to courses like this when they were starting out. The instructors are all extremely bought into the concept, and we’re excited to have most of them as part of our cap table as well,” said cofounder Mikhil Raj.
The platform is seeing high engagement from small towns such as Shivpur, it said.
FrontRow will use the capital to add more courses and categories, expand its community offering, and try various course formats.
The Mumbai and Bengaluru-based startup has a 20-member team.
Commenting on her investment, Padukone said, “Growing up, I wasn’t exactly academically inclined. My interests lay in diverse spheres and activities outside of the traditional classroom - dance, sports, music, modelling and performance arts, to name a few. I’m glad that this gap in education has now been identified, and I look forward to partnering with this dynamic team on what I believe is going to be an exciting journey ahead.”
The platform offers classes by celebrities in creative arts and sports, including singer Neha Kakkar, cricketer Suresh Raina, and comedian Biswa Kalyan Rath, among others.
In addition to celebrity instructions, users are paired with a community platform that gives learners regular activities, competitions, and peer engagement to practice and showcase their talent.
The company said it has had thousands of beta users participating in its pre-launch community groups.
“Each one of them recalled that they faced problems while learning as well, and they wished they had access to courses like this when they were starting out. The instructors are all extremely bought into the concept, and we’re excited to have most of them as part of our cap table as well,” said cofounder Mikhil Raj.
The platform is seeing high engagement from small towns such as Shivpur, it said.
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FrontRow will use the capital to add more courses and categories, expand its community offering, and try various course formats.
The Mumbai and Bengaluru-based startup has a 20-member team.
Commenting on her investment, Padukone said, “Growing up, I wasn’t exactly academically inclined. My interests lay in diverse spheres and activities outside of the traditional classroom - dance, sports, music, modelling and performance arts, to name a few. I’m glad that this gap in education has now been identified, and I look forward to partnering with this dynamic team on what I believe is going to be an exciting journey ahead.”
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