Chennai-based Start-up Disprz Raises $13-Mn Funding Led by Dallas Venture Capital, Mars Growth Capital

Disprz will use this investment to scale up product and engineering teams, establish a sales and marketing division in the US, expand its presence in Southeast Asia and Middle East markets

Representational image | Photo: Getty

New Delhi: Skilling start-up Disprz has raised $13 million in Series B funding round led by Dallas Venture Capital and Mars Growth Capital.

The funding has seen participation from its existing investors Go1 (an Australian unicorn), 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).  

Founded by Subramanian (Subbu) Viswanathan and Kuljit Chadha in in 2015, Disprz is an artificial intelligence–based learning and skilling platform, which empowers firms to right-skill their workforce. The company serves over 1.2 million users worldwide. 

Chennai-based Disprz will use this investment to scale up product and engineering teams, establish a sales and marketing division in the US, expand its existing presence in Southeast Asia and Middle East markets, and invest in building industry-specific product solutions.

“We are excited to welcome Dallas Venture Capital (DVC) into the mission of Disprz. Dallas Venture Capital’s founding team 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,” said Disprz’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Subramanian Viswanathan, a serial entrepreneur and alum of IIT-Madras, ISB, and McKinsey. 

The start-up has over 225 employees and 200 plus 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. 

“We started out as a single product firm, 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”, said Kuljit Chadha, co-founder and chief operating officer (COO) of Disprz. 

“We are going deep into sectors such as banking, insurance, fintech, e-commerce, 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,” said Chadha.

“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 Disprz. The pandemic has also acted as a catalyst to the rapidly growing skills-tech market,” 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 which is 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 per cent. By 2025, the start-up aims to achieve the vision of reaching a top line of $100 million across the globe.

Unitus Capital acted as the financial advisor to the company for this transaction.