As working harder gets replaced by working smarter thanks to automation and AI technology, communication and soft skills are just as relevant in today’s tech-driven world. PlanetSpark doubled down on this opportunity and even as other edtech platforms have struggled to make a mark, the company has turned cash flow positive after eight years of operations.

The Binny Bansal-backed startup will join the elite league of rare profitable edtech startups such as Physics Wallah by FY26 after reaching break-even in FY25, according to cofounder Kunal Malik.

Profit-making ventures are too rare in a sea of nearly 18,000 edtech startups in India. Even more so when XLRI graduates Malik and PlanetSpark cofounder Mahesh Dhoopar launched the startup in 2017.

The founders banked on a simple statistic to build on this idea. Nearly 4 Mn Google searches from India every month for soft skills with special focus on communication and language learning. Topics such as communication skill classes for kids, personality development for kids, and ways to boost a child’s confidence were the top searches.

“After-school activities, especially personality development and life skills, is an INR 10,000 Cr opportunity in domestic markets and, with international expansion, this could be an INR 20,000 Cr opportunity. Hence, the total addressable market (TAM) is still large,” PlanetSpark cofounder and CEO Malik told Inc42.

It is this growth potential that wooed PlanetSpark to the K12 segment, which focuses on kindergarten to Class XII standard education.

Even today, when the market is swept by GenAI, machine learning and tech skills development, Malik believes that there is a strong underlying demand for communication in English in India. Plus, AI has made real-time learning smoother through personalisation, while also minimising costs for the startup, the CEO revealed — read on to know more about how the startup leveraged AI for efficiency.

This thesis, according to the PlanetSpark CEO, is based on the fact that in India alone, the total addressable market for skills like communications is around 20 Mn children from the middle-income segment.

“This represents an opportunity to create an INR 5,000 Cr company in the Indian market. Additionally, about 20% of our traffic comes from outside India, including North America (the US and Canada), the Middle East, and a bit of the UK, which further expands our reach on a global scale,” Malik claimed.

Backed by the likes of Prime Venture Partners, Innoven Capital, besides Bansal, the startup has raised $31.3 Mn in funding so far, a relatively small amount given the huge inflow of capital in edtech between 2018 and 2021. This has been a key factor in PlanetSpark’s journey thus far too, pushing the startup to break-even in FY25, and the confidence of going for a public listing in the next two years.

How PlanetSpark Reached The Break-Even Point

According to Malik, the company’s push for profitability came in FY24, when it raised $13 Mn in a funding round led by Prime Venture Partners. It vindicated........

© Inc42