After a prolonged slowdown and reputational challenges, India’s edtech sector is witnessing a clear revival. Investor confidence appears to be returning, especially toward outcome-driven, higher-education startups.
According to sources familiar with the matter, Mesa School of Business, a startup-focused business school backed by Kunal Shah, has initiated discussions to raise $8–10 million in a new funding round. Existing investor Elevation Capital is expected to participate, along with other potential backers.
If completed, this would mark Mesa’s largest funding round to date, signaling growing investor interest in selective, high-quality education models.
About Mesa School of Business
Founded by former Urban Company executive Ankit Agarwal and ex-Amazon leader Varun Limaye, Mesa School of Business offers full-time, residential programs designed to groom future startup leaders and operators.
Mesa follows a model broadly comparable to Masters’ Union, emphasizing:
Hands-on learning
Real-world startup exposure
Curriculum co-created with founders, operators, and employers
The institution plans to admit a founding cohort of just 60 carefully selected students, reinforcing its focus on quality over scale.
Use of Funds and Strategic Focus
Sources indicate that Mesa intends to deploy the fresh capital toward:
Building a cutting-edge, application-based curriculum
Partnering with startup leaders and industry practitioners
Strengthening placement and employer collaborations
Enhancing campus infrastructure and academic delivery
Neither Mesa nor Elevation Capital responded to ISN’s queries for comment.
Rising Investor Interest in New-Age Edtech
Mesa’s fundraising comes amid a broader resurgence in outcome-focused education startups. Recently, Emversity, which trains professionals for industry-specific roles, raised capital from Premji Invest and other prominent investors.
This trend highlights a shift away from mass-market edtech toward high-intent, career-linked education models.
In 2023, commenting on Mesa’s earlier funding round, Mukul Arora, Managing Partner at Elevation Capital, had said:
“We believe there is a clear opportunity to build new-age, outcome-focused higher education institutions in India.”
Edtech’s Second Act?
With renewed funding activity and a sharper focus on employability, India’s edtech sector appears to be entering a more mature, sustainable phase. Startups like Mesa are betting that selectivity, industry relevance, and real outcomes — rather than scale alone — will define the future of education in India
