Edtech firm byteXL raises $9M as investors back college-linked AI skilling model

Edtech firm byteXL raises $9M as investors back college-linked AI skilling model

Hyderabad-based byteXL said the fresh capital will help expand its college network, strengthen AI-led learning tools, and reach 500,000 engineering students across 15 states.

Edtech company byteXL has raised $9 million in its latest funding round, led by Elevar Equity, an impact investor, with participation from existing investors Kalaari Capital, an early-stage VC, and The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, a philanthropic foundation.

The Hyderabad-based startup’s latest round follows a $5.9 million Series A raised in July 2024.

byteXL, founded by brothers Karun and Sricharan Tadepalli, works with engineering colleges, particularly in Tier II and Tier III cities, to bring industry-oriented technology and artificial intelligence learning into students’ regular degree programmes.

Its business-to-business model (B2B) works through institutions instead of selling courses directly to individual learners. The company combines curriculum, practical projects, technology platforms and trained educators with existing college programmes.

byteXL claims that 7,600 of its graduates were placed in IT and engineering roles last year.

The new capital is intended to expand byteXL’s institutional network, strengthen its technology and AI capabilities, increase academic and delivery capacity and develop new industry-aligned programmes.

The company plans to increase its presence from 40 institutions to 120 over the next two years, while expanding its reach from about 200,000 students to 500,000 across 15 states. Planned product investments include AI-enabled learning and assessment, student analytics and personalised learning tools.

CEO Karun Tadepalli said the next phase will focus on “expanding our institutional footprint” and deepening its technology and AI capabilities.

For byteXL, the proposition is less about adding another online course and more about embedding employability-focused training inside the four-year engineering journey.

Kalaari partner Sampath P said this allows byteXL to work within the existing college ecosystem and not “re-invent the wheel,” while noting the company’s growth and ability to reach profitability.

The funding comes as the country’s edtech market becomes more selective. Tracxn data showed sector equity funding at $214 million in the first eight months of 2026, down sharply from the 2021 peak, even as median round sizes increased.

Yet capital is still reaching differentiated AI and education businesses. Arivihan raised $10 million from Accel and Prosus in September to expand its AI tutoring platform, while ProLearn raised Rs 30 crore in June for an AI-focused learning platform.

The policy environment is also moving towards AI and employment-linked learning, with the government’s Skill India Digital Hub bringing training, assessment, certification and employment services onto one platform, while its SOAR programme has expanded from foundational AI courses to 50 AI-related qualifications.

Separately, SWAYAM Plus is expanding industry-aligned, credit-eligible learning through higher education.

For companies like byteXL, the opportunity is increasingly tied to whether they can sustainably turn this emphasis on AI skills into measurable learning and employment outcomes.

Elevate Education, a Gurugram-based higher education platform formerly known as Sunstone, which also operates in a similar space, secured Rs 170 crore in funding in July, highlighting investor interest in the segment.

(Disclaimer: Kalaari Capital is an investor in YourStory.)

Edited by Megha Reddy

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