TalentSprint raises Series A Funding from Nexus Venture Partners

Plans to integrate 100 colleges in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka into the TalentSprint College Network in the short term

TalentSprint, a pioneer in creating high performance professionals for the IT and BFSI industry, has raised INR 20 Crores in Series A equity funding from Nexus Venture Partners. Co-founded by industry veterans Madhumurty Ronanki, Santanu Paul, and J.A. Chowdary, TalentSprint aims to skill 500,000 graduates by 2020.

TalentSprint, an NSDC partner company, offers employability programs to young professionals using experiential learning and iPEARL, its proprietary technology platform. The programs blend diverse skills and are delivered by best-of-class, industry practitioners to students during or after college, thereby greatly improving their prospects of getting employed when they graduate. On the demand side, the company works closely with industry partners to deliver productivity and efficiency gains in excess of 70% in terms of new talent acquisition.

Santanu Paul, CEO and Managing Director at TalentSprint said, “India has tripled the number of higher education seats since 2000 and will do so again between now and 2020. However, quality has become a massive challenge.  Our solution combines rich content, industry-experienced instructors and technology-aided delivery to provide meaningful employability outcomes. The near term goal is to integrate 100 colleges into the TalentSprint College Network.”

Anup Gupta, Managing Director, Nexus Venture Partners, said, “Infusing quality into the higher education system is essential for India to be able to sustain its economic growth. We are very pleased to back TalentSprint’s strong management team and its innovative model that brings skill development and industry expertise to colleges and youth through smart use of technology. The goal is enable up-skilling on a large scale without compromising on quality.”

As part of this Series A investment Anup Gupta will join the company’s board of directors.

About TalentSprint
TalentSprint (www.talentsprint.com)) is a pioneer in creating high performance professionals for the global IT and BFSI industry through fast-track transformations. TalentSprint offers employability programs that are delivered by best-of-class industry practitioners using experiential learning and iPEARL, its proprietary technology platform. The industry-relevant programs, targeted at young professionals during or after they graduate from college, greatly improve their prospects of getting employed.

The company has successfully graduated 3,000 professionals that have been recruited by 60+ leading companies in the IT and BFSI sector. TalentSprint has world class learning facilities in Hyderabad and Chennai and a strong College Partner Network.

About Nexus Venture Partners
Nexus Venture Partners (www.nexusvp.com) is India’s leading venture capital fund, with offices in India and Silicon Valley. It has $320m under management and an active portfolio of over 35 companies across technology, internet, media, consumer, business services sectors. The Nexus team plays an active role in helping entrepreneurs and management teams build market leading businesses.

Some of the companies that Nexus has invested in include Cloud.com (Cloud provisioning platform acquired by Citrix), Gluster (cloud storage, acquired by Red Hat), Pubmatic (Publisher Ad revenue optimization), DimDim (Web Conferencing acquired by Salesforce.com), Snapdeal.com ( eCommerce), Mapmyindia (Digital Navigation), Netmagic (Managed Services acquired by NTT Com), Komli (Online ad network), Prana (Animation services), Druva (Enterprise data protection), Greywater (Waste Water Treatment), EyeQ (affordable eye care), SohanLal Commodity Management (Agri-logistics solutions provider) and Bigshoebazaar (Online wholesale cash & carry platform). Investors in Nexus include leading university endowments, foundations and sovereign funds.