Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal and Zerodha CEO Nithin Kamath invests $4 million in Aakash Chaudhry’s Sparkl

Aakash Institute founder Aakash Chaudhry has reportedly secured backing from top consumer tech leaders, including Zomato’s Deepinder Goyal and Zerodha’s Nithin Kamath, for his new venture, Sparkl Edventure. As per The Economic Times, Kamath’s Rainmatter fund, known for its focus on fintech and sustainability, is joining Goyal in a $4 million seed funding round. The report, citing unnamed sources, hints at the involvement of additional high-profile investors in the round.
Chaudhry launched Sparkl in October this year in partnership with Meritnation.com founders Pavan Chauhan and Ritesh Hemrajani. Meritnation, an edtech platform acquired by Chaudhry’s family business, Aakash Educational Services Ltd (AESL), in 2020, was a pivotal part of this collaboration. This venture follows the landmark $950 million sale of AESL to Byju’s in 2021, one of India’s largest edtech deals. Chaudhry continues to hold an 11% stake in AESL.
Sparkl aims to offer one-on-one online tutoring for students in grades 6 to 12, with a focus on International Baccalaureate (IB) and Cambridge curricula. The platform provides personalised instruction in subjects like mathematics, science, languages, and business studies. Already operational, Sparkl has enrolled students from Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad, and Singapore, with plans to expand further by leveraging its technological capabilities.
“The platform was initially slated for a 2025 launch, but with the product ready ahead of schedule, the timeline was fast-tracked,” said a source. The seed funding is expected to accelerate Sparkl’s rollout.
Unlike AESL’s offline-focused test prep model, Sparkl operates as a fully digital platform tailored to international curricula and study-abroad aspirations. Sparkl also integrates mental health support with monthly well-being sessions to address stress and peer pressure among students.