Bengaluru-based edtech startup Arivihan has raised $10 million in a Series A round led by existing investors Accel and Prosus Ventures, a move aimed squarely at getting affordable, AI-powered exam preparation to students in tier-3 cities and rural India.
The round included an additional $200,000 from the company’s existing GSF angel investors and pushes Arivihan’s total funding past $15 million. According to Entrackr, which first reported the raise, the company’s valuation has jumped roughly 3.3X to around $60 million.
For students outside India’s metros, the more interesting number is a different one: Arivihan says close to 80% of its subscribers come from tier-3 cities and rural India — the exact group that has historically been priced out of coaching-heavy exam prep.
Who Arivihan Is Built For
Founded in 2022 by Ritesh Singh Chandel, Sonu Kumar and Rushabh Kothari, Arivihan runs an AI-based learning platform for school students. Instead of live classes with teachers, it leans on interactive video lessons, instant doubt-solving and AI-driven study plans that adapt to each learner.
The platform currently supports students preparing for State Board, CBSE and NEET examinations. That combination — board exams plus a competitive entrance test like NEET — is where a lot of first-generation aspirants from smaller towns need the most support and can least afford it.
Where the Money Goes
Arivihan plans to use the fresh capital to expand into new states and deepen its presence in four key markets: Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar. Alongside the geographic push, the company intends to:
- Expand its CBSE-focused offering
- Build more vernacular (regional-language) learning capabilities
- Step up its AI research
- Scale digital marketing and on-ground distribution
- Hire across key functions and launch new crash courses
The vernacular-language focus matters for the students Arivihan is targeting. English-first platforms often lose learners in Hindi-belt states, and regional-language content is one of the few reliable ways to widen access rather than just deepen it among students who already study in English.
A Familiar Backer
Arivihan is not new to the Accel ecosystem. The startup was previously part of Accel’s Atoms accelerator programme and received seed funding through it in March 2024. Having Accel and Prosus Ventures — two of the more active names in Indian edtech and consumer tech — return for the Series A is a signal of continued conviction rather than a fresh bet.
The Financial Picture
The company is yet to file its FY26 financials. In FY25, Arivihan’s revenue grew almost 14.8X to Rs 3.14 crore, up from Rs 21.29 lakh in FY24. Over the same period it posted a loss of Rs 4.45 crore — a wide gap between revenue and losses that is common for early-stage edtech firms spending to acquire users, and one worth watching as the company scales.
What This Means for Students
The real signal here is not the dollar figure but who it is meant to reach. A funded, AI-first platform explicitly designing for tier-3 and rural learners — in regional languages, at low cost — is a genuinely different proposition from the metro-focused, premium coaching model that dominated the last edtech cycle.
For students and parents in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar, the practical thing to watch over the next few months is whether the promised regional-language content and new crash courses actually land, and at what price. AI study plans are only useful if the underlying content is strong and the app works on low-end devices and patchy connections. Those are the tests that will decide whether this funding translates into real classroom impact rather than just market expansion.
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