Disprz, a leading enterprise skilling startup, today announced it has raised $13 MN in a Series B funding round led by Dallas Venture Capital and Mars Growth Capital. The round also saw participation from existing investors Go1 (an Australian unicorn in this space), Tara India Fund IV being managed by KOIS, Auctus Capital (Family office of Vikas Phadnis, Co-Founder of Eurokids) and Kae Capital (a leading seed fund). Unitus Capital acted as the financial advisor to the company for this transaction.

Founded in 2015 by Subramanian (Subbu) Viswanathan and Kuljit Chadha, Disprz is an AI-powered learning and skilling suite that empowers companies to right-skill their workforce to win in a digital-first world. The company now serves over 1.2 million users, with a mission to enable each individual to advance in work and life through best-in-class technology-led, scientifically-backed skills experiences. Disprz will use this investment further to scale up product and engineering teams, establish a sales and marketing division in the US, expand its existing presence in South East Asia and Middle East markets, and invest in building industry-specific product solutions.

“We are excited to welcome Dallas Venture Capital into the mission of Disprz. DVC’s founding teams are former founders who have scaled and exited start-ups and their understanding of the SaaS space, coupled with their strong network in the US, make them a perfect partner for Disprz as we look to establish ourselves in developed markets, particularly the US,” says Disprz CEO Subramanian Viswanathan, a serial entrepreneur and alum of IIT-Madras, ISB and McKinsey.

With over 225 employees and counting a 200+ Indian and global customer base which includes Wellness Forever, More Retail, Times Internet, Motilal Oswal Financial Services, Godrej Storage Solutions, Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages, KBZ MS General Insurance, Oman Oil, AIA Group and others. Disprz has silently emerged as the leading SaaS start-up in the learning and skilling space in India and emerging APAC. It has also won the Atma Nirbhar Bharat App Innovation Challenge organized by the Government of India under the category of e-learning and was featured in the Prime Minister's radio address last year.

“We started out as a single product company, but are now a multi-product company, addressing the skill needs of both frontline and knowledge workers through unique offerings, while solving key business problems. We are no longer just a good-to-have learning platform but a core business platform that can provide our customers with a competitive advantage”, says Kuljit Chadha, Co-Founder and COO of Disprz. “We are going deep into sectors such as banking, insurance, fin-tech, eCommerce and high-tech, where we have now developed deep expertise on skill recognition, skill measurement and skill impact. We aim to strengthen the efficient backbone of the brands that touch our daily lives. We already do this in India and emerging APACs and we expect to replicate this in major global economies,” shares Kuljit.

“The founders’ pedigree and vision, the company’s continued traction in emerging markets and the huge untapped potential for skills-tech globally excited us to partner with Disprz. The pandemic has also acted as a catalyst to the rapidly growing skills-tech market. We believe that the DVC Advantage program, focused on start-up companies’ needs in multiple areas such as product and technology strategy, executive mentorship, talent acquisition and with an enhanced focus on business development, would greatly benefit Disprz during this exciting growth phase”, said Gokul Dixit, Venture Partner at Dallas Venture Capital.

Global learning and development spending stood at $360 billion in 2019 and the pandemic has thrown this spending into high gear, expected to touch $500 billion in 2025. Disprz has consistently doubled in revenue year on year and calendar year 2021 has seen them grow by 150%. By 2025, the startup aims to achieve the vision of reaching a top line of $100 million across the globe.

“L&D and capability building spend at enterprises lack an overarching thread and we intend to solve that problem, both by bringing a skills-first approach as well as by making business functions, key stakeholders. Our aim is to act as the window for every aspect of learning and skilling spend at corporations and show business impact. Clients that use the full breadth of our offerings now see the tangible business impact - higher sales, better customer experience and faster times to market. Our mission also has a profound social impact and we are proud of that.” says Subramanian Viswanathan, humbled by the growth they have had over the years.