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Unitus Ventures Invests In Labinapp, Redefining Secondary School Science Learning ; Launches Startedu 3

Written by Capria Admin
June 24, 2015

Interactive 3-D graphical simulations help students visualize and explore complex science concepts

LabInApp124 June, 2015. Bangalore, India: Unitus Ventures, India’s leading venture seed fund supporting startups innovating for the masses, announced that it has led the seed round investment in LabInApp, a Hubli-based education startup. LabInApp is a company on a mission to revolutionize science learning through 3-dimensional virtual graphics. Their real-time computer graphics technology helps students to interact with, visualize and explore science. Other investors in this round include ed-tech veteran Madan Padaki’s Sylvant Advisors. Additionally, today co-conveners Unitus Ventures and Sylvant launched StartEdu 3, in which education startups like LabInApp will have the ability to compete for a 5 lakh prize and up to a 1 crore investment – LabInApp was the winner of the first edition of StartEdu.

More than three quarters of schools in India do not have fully equipped science laboratories for students. 75% schools lack proper science laboratory facilities and most schools catering to low-income students also lack access to good quality science teachers.

Students are thus unable to understand the basics of science that involves experimentation. As part of the curriculum, schools have experiments for physics, chemistry and biology, but most often these are done in large groups and the time spent on each experiment by each student is limited, leaving little ability to truly learn. LabInApp addresses this gap, and enables each student to experiment directly with complex science concepts without the need for a physical setup.

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Real-time 3D computer graphics technology promotes “learn by doing” pedagogy

LabInApp is a 3D, interactive virtual laboratory tool that focuses on heuristic approach of understanding science. This heuristic ideology allows students and teachers to perform science experiments on computers or mobile devices, and eliminates the physical barriers of an actual laboratory. LabInApp’s real-time 3D computer graphics technology promotes “learn by doing” pedagogy. This enhances the ability of a teacher to deliver a live demonstration of experiments/concepts/phenomenon/complex ideas in a controlled environment. This improves students’ conceptual realization and arouses curiosity by its playful learning environment.

So far, LabInApp has successfully enrolled 35 institutions to use their 3D services in their science laboratories. These institutions are located in Tier II cities like Hubli, Dharwad, Davangere and Gulabarga. They are covering XI and XII standards for CBSE and Karnataka Board. They cover Physics and Biology subjects and have more than 100 science experiments.

LabInApp Team Profile

LabInApp was co-founded by Pavan Shinde, Girish Shirigannavar, Pramod Ramdurg and Vinayak Hulabutti bringing experience in technology and implementation. They have also worked together on the IDH (Indian Digital Heritage) project where they generated 3D models of Hampi monuments using Microsoft Kinect sensor and rendering it by GPU.

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“We are currently focusing on secondary school (CBSE), physics & biology subject lab experiments. The scope of this segment is huge since there are more than fifteen thousand such schools in India & abroad” said Pavan Shinde, Co-Founder and CEO at LabInApp. “With the support of Unitus Ventures and Sylvant,  we can even serve state boards and ICSE syllabus”.

“We are excited about how Pavan and the team at LabInApp are solving a specific, but large problem through technology – which makes it scalable & profitable” commented Anand Sudarshan, Founder & Director of Sylvant Advisors. “LabInApp is a great example of an emerging trend we are seeing in the education space In India- delivering high-value but affordable services to the masses.”

“We are also delighted to see the ecosystem coming together to help entrepreneurs succeed – LabInApp came through TiE Bangalore where Pavan & team had participated in TiE EduThon (an education startup event). They subsequently applied for StartEdu, a competition by Unitus Ventures & Sylvant Advisors, got mentored by the team at Sylvant and went on to win the first StartEdu competition – and now this investment by Unitus Ventures!” he added.

Unitus Capital was the financial advisor and Impact Law Ventures was the legal advisor on this transaction, advising Unitus Ventures.

StartEdu 3 Launched to Find the Next LabInApp

Unitus Ventures today launched StartEdu3, pan-India education startup competition looking to identify, mentor, incubate, and invest in the most promising growth (in-revenue) & early (pre-revenue) stage startups that are serving India’s masses – the 20 crore families living on under 20,000 rupees per month. Shortlisted participants for the third 2015 competition will be mentored by incubators participating in Unitus’ Speed2Seed Program, which is made possible in part through a global development agreement with US-AID.

Education-focused business accelerator Sylvant is a co-convener of the competition, a preferred provider of expert mentoring and incubation services for participants in the competition, and is a founding member of Unitus’ Speed2Seed Program. The winner of StartEdu 3 will be a growth stage company that will receive a cash prize of INR 5 lakhs and a chance to pitch to Unitus Ventures for a seed investment of up to INR 1cr. The most promising early stage (pre-revenue) company will be given the opportunity to receive ongoing mentoring and incubation support from one of our Speed2Seed partners. Each will be announced as a winner in their category. More about StartEdu Competition >

About LabInApp

LabInApp is a mobile/tablet/pc application that creates 3D virtual laboratory for science experiments and enables teachers/students to interact, visualize and explore science. The interactive app enables students and teachers to perform science experiments on computers or mobile devices, and eliminates the need for a physical labs. The real-time technology fits into the “learning by doing” model and enables teachers to deliver a live demonstration of experiments/concepts. Students are then able to better understand what is being taught and in an environment that is more exciting than a laboratory. More about LabInApp >

About Unitus Ventures

Unitus Ventures is the leading venture seed fund supporting startups innovating for the masses in India. Unitus invests in healthcare, education, mobile commerce & value-added services, marketplaces & e-commerce, retail & distribution, agriculture, and water & energy sectors. Founded in 2012, Unitus Ventures is part of the Unitus Group, a premier financial services group operating in India and other emerging markets since 2000. Unitus Ventures is based in Bangalore and Seattle. More about Unitus Ventures >

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