Vivek Sinha, the former Chief Operating Officer (COO) of edtech unicorn Unacademy, has reportedly raised $11 million (approximately INR 91 crore) in funding for his new venture in the education technology sector. The funding round witnessed contributions from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Matrix Partners, and notable angel investors including Ritesh Agarwal, the CEO and founder of Oyo group, along with Gaurav Munjal, the CEO and Co-Founder of Unacademy. Sinha's new startup is anticipated to specialize in the upskilling sector with a specific focus on providing assistance to the healthcare industry.

The entity's parent registration occurred in September under the name "Beyond Odds", although the specific identity of the company remains undisclosed. The ongoing funding round led by Vivek Sinha is actively seeking additional angel investors, indicating potential alterations in the final terms of the deal. When approached by Inc42 for confirmation, Sinha declined to verify the news. Sinha departed from his role as Unacademy's COO in August, expressing appreciation for the experiences, relationships, and memories garnered during his three-year tenure. Although Unacademy has yet to file its financial reports for FY23, the edtech unicorn marked its inaugural cash flow-positive month in June 2023. Notably, in FY22, the company posted a net loss of INR 2,848 crore, denoting an 85% year-on-year (YoY) increase.

Recently, Gaurav Munjal, CEO of Unacademy, stated that the company successfully decreased its cash expenditure by 60% in 2023. Sinha, an alumnus of NIT Jamshedpur and ISB, joined Unacademy in August 2020 as the COO, overseeing the complete profit and loss spectrum of digital test preparation, hybrid centers, K12, and jobs & skills divisions. Prior to his tenure at Unacademy, Sinha held roles at OYO and Mobikwik. At OYO, he managed a distinct business unit in collaboration with Softbank, responsible for overseeing luxury hotels in the country.

The startup landscape has observed several senior-level departures in 2023, with many of these former executives now venturing into establishing new startups. Recent reports highlighted Swiggy's senior vice president, Karthik Gurumurthy, departing the food-tech giant to launch Convenio, an offline platform resembling Swiggy. Earlier in the year, GVK's Keshav Reddy and Rajeev Ranjan, former director of engineering at Swiggy, introduced Equal, a digital platform allowing Indians to share IDs with a single click.