Key Highlights

• Emversity, a higher-education embedded training and employability platform, has raised $30 million (₹271 crore) in Series A from Premji Invest, Lightspeed and Z47
• Emversity bridges the gap between higher education and employability through industry-aligned, technology-driven, work-integrated training embedded within university programs.
• Emversity has emerged as a category leader, supporting 4,500 learners across 40 campuses, with employer-co-created workforce pipelines in healthcare and hospitality
• The company will use the proceeds to expand to over 200 campuses, launch new skilling verticals in EPC and manufacturing, and unlock access to select global workforce demand for India-trained talent.

Emversity, a higher-education embedded training and employability platform operated by Beyond Odds Technologies Pvt. Ltd., has raised $30 million (₹271 crore) in a Series A round led by Premji Invest, with participation from Lightspeed and Z47, taking total funding raised to $46 million.

Emversity acts as a bridge between universities and employers, working with higher-education institutions to strengthen the link between academic learning and workforce readiness. By embedding industry-aligned curricula, work-integrated training, and advanced learning infrastructure—including simulation-based and AR/VR-enabled learning—the platform helps universities deliver more employable graduates. In parallel, Emversity works directly with employers and operates dedicated skill centres in affiliation with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), offering short-term training programs for healthcare and hospitality. Together, these efforts address workforce shortages in critical sectors while enabling predictable education-to-employment outcomes.

In under two years, Emversity has scaled into a category-leading platform, supporting over 4,500 learners across 40+ campuses through employer-co-created workforce pipelines. Its healthcare and hospitality programs are developed in collaboration with leading employers to ensure curriculum relevance and job readiness, with early cohorts working at organisations such as Fortis Healthcare, Apollo Hospitals, Aster, KIMS, IHCL (Taj Hotels), and Lemon Tree Hotels. This employer-integrated model spans university-embedded programs and Emversity-operated skill centres, strengthening employability outcomes while enabling predictable, job-ready talent pipelines at scale.

The company plans to deploy the capital toward long-term priorities, including:

• Expanding Emversity’s campus footprint from 40+ to over 200 locations
• Deepening its leadership position in healthcare and hospitality skilling
• Launching skilling programs for infrastructure-led EPC and manufacturing industries
• Continuing to strengthen its technology-enabled careers platform spanning career discovery, training, employability, and workforce mobility

Vivek Sinha, Founder & CEO, Emversity said “India has added significant capacity in higher education over the past decade, but the alignment between education and employability has not kept pace with the needs of a rapidly changing economy. Universities have built academic scale and depth, while skill requirements across sectors have evolved far more quickly. Emversity was created to work alongside universities—adding industry relevance, applied training, and employer linkage where it is most needed.

This funding allows us to scale that model responsibly: strengthening proven sectors, extending it to new areas of workforce demand, and continuing to build a durable institution focused on employability outcomes. Our objective is to enable a capital-efficient education-to-employment platform that leverages existing university infrastructure and can operate at a global scale over the long term.”

Kaveesh Chawla, Partner at Premji Invest, said, “Our investment in Emversity reflects our strong conviction in the role of outcome-oriented education and skilling in driving long-term social and economic impact in India. As the need to bridge the gap between academic learning and real-world employability grows, Emversity’s student-centric approach, focus on apprenticeships, and strong alignment with industry partners position it well to address this gap at scale.”

Rajat Agarwal, Managing Director at Z47, added, “Emversity is building employability infrastructure in sectors that are critical to India’s long-term growth and capacity. The team has demonstrated consistency and resilience in a complex operating environment, and this round supports the next phase of scaling a durable, employment-led higher education platform. We believe Emversity is well positioned to strengthen employability outcomes in India, and we’re pleased to continue partnering with the team.”

Harsha Kumar, Partner at Lightspeed, said, “Emversity is addressing a fundamental gap between education and employability in India by working within existing institutions rather than around them. Vivek and the team have built a disciplined, outcomes-led platform that aligns universities, employers, and learners over the long term. We believe this approach is well suited to building education-to-employment infrastructure at scale, and we’re pleased to continue supporting Emversity in its next phase.”

Bengaluru, India: Emversity, India’s leading industry-skilling network, has announced the elevation of four founding team members to CXO roles. The move strengthens the company’s leadership core as it enters its next phase of growth — expanding reach, deepening partnerships with universities, and improving learning outcomes for thousands of students across India.

Manish Kumar has assumed the role of Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Under his leadership, Emversity is building an AI-powered technology backbone that connects students, universities, and employers nationwide. The focus is on leveraging artificial intelligence to make learning more personal, operations more efficient, and outcomes more predictable. From helping 800,000 senior-secondary students discover the right career path, to creating high-quality course content, ensuring every training centre runs smoothly, and preparing students for real jobs — AI now touches every part of Emversity’s journey.

Akash Kalp has taken over as Chief Business Officer (CBO) for Emversity SMART, the company’s skill-training and certification vertical in partnership with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC). Akash has built Emversity SMART into a network of 25 company-owned, company-operated skill centres across India and will now lead its next growth phase, targeting 50 centres by 2027. Through this expansion,  Emversity SMART is unlocking new career pathways for young Indians by building on Emversity's existing strong foundation in sectors such as hospitals, diagnostics, imaging, and geriatric care, and now extending into new high-growth, nation-building industries like Travel, Hospitality, construction, and manufacturing.

Rahul Raj has been elevated to Chief Business Officer (CBO), leading Emversity EDGE — a model that embeds industry-relevant skill development within higher-education curricula. Designed as a service framework for UGC-recognised universities, EDGE enables institutions to integrate industry linkages directly into their regular degree programs. Under Rahul’s leadership, Emversity has already been appointed by 13 universities and will now drive expansion to over 50 higher-education institutions by 2027. His focus is on helping universities strengthen employability outcomes by embedding Emversity’s deep industry partnerships across sectors such as healthcare, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and ACE (Architecture, Construction & Engineering).

Megha Lal has taken over as Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) after playing a pivotal role in expanding Emversity’s workforce to over 700 employees across 22 states. For a company where the quality of trainers is as critical as technology and content, Emversity treats its ability to consistently develop and retain industry-best trainers as a core competitive advantage. In an operation that spans from Srinagar in the north to Kochi in the south, and from Mumbai in the west to Guwahati in the east, Megha’s mandate is to deepen this trainer ecosystem and create a scalable people engine that supports Emversity’s rapid growth and consistent learning outcomes across India.

Speaking on the appointments, Vivek Sinha, Founder & CEO of Emversity, said:

“Each of these leaders represents the spirit of Emversity — building with purpose, pace, and precision. Together, they bring the expertise needed to scale our impact nationwide, from fostering stronger university collaborations to empowering thousands of learners through technology-led skill development. In less than two years, Emversity has emerged as the clear category leader in the skill-development space, and this leadership elevation marks more than a milestone; it’s a statement of intent to grow responsibly, lead with conviction, and continue shaping India’s employability landscape.”

The strengthened leadership team will enable Emversity to deepen partnerships with higher education institutions, industry partners, and government bodies, while broadening its skilling portfolio and building scalable digital learning solutions. These initiatives align with Emversity’s vision of making India’s education-to-employment ecosystem more accessible, industry-integrated, and outcome-oriented.

• Structured 24-month career pathway: Combines 6-month classroom and practical training in India with 18-month paid international placements at PRISM hotel properties

• Program will place Indian hospitality professionals across PRISM's Middle East, Southeast Asia, and UK operations

Indian Hotels Company (IHCL), India’s largest hospitality company, announced its partnership with Emversity, an employability-led higher education platform, to expand its skilling ecosystem.

Mr. Gaurav Pokhariyal, Executive Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer, IHCL, said, “At IHCL, our commitment to nation-building goes beyond hospitality, it extends to shaping lives and livelihoods of the communities we operate in. Skilling has always been integral to this mission, and we have invested in initiatives that unlock potential and open doors for young talent. Guided by our ESG+ framework of Paathya, we are creating pathways for inclusive development, with a strong emphasis on education, employability, and empowerment.”

“This partnership with Emversity builds on that vision by offering a structured, work-integrated learning model that combines academic rigour with hands-on experience. As we continue to scale, partners like Emversity are instrumental in nurturing the next generation of talent for the industry”, he added.

Through this association, IHCL will integrate students enrolled in Emversity’s UGC-recognised Bachelor’s degree programs into its hotels across Jaipur, Kochi, Hyderabad, and Chennai. The ‘work-integrated’ model offers students classroom instruction during the first semester, followed by 2.5 years of full-time internship in key hotel operations such as Front Office, Housekeeping, and Food & Beverage Service.

Mr. Vivek Sinha, Founder & CEO, Emversity, said, “Our collaboration with IHCL exemplifies the power of industry-academia integration. By embedding students within IHCL’s world-class hotel ecosystem, we are enhancing their employability and setting a benchmark for practical, career-focused education.”

This year, approximately 140 students will be onboarded through the partnership, with plans to scale across 7 additional IHCL hotels from the next financial year.

• ₹6.5 crore buyback for 20 employees who joined on or before 31 January 2024
• Employees monetised up ~70% of vested ESOPs at zero discount
• Emversity is now a 700+ employee organisation across 24 states and 60 locations

Bangalore, 11th March 2026: Emversity, an employability-led higher education and industry-skilling platform, has completed an ESOP buyback of ₹6.5 crore, providing partial liquidity to a group of its earliest team members.

The buyback was extended to 20 employees who joined the organisation on or before 31 January 2024 and were an integral part of Emversity's founding and pre-operational phase.

~Students to undergo immersive classroom and on-the-job training across key hotel operations~

 Emversity, India's leading industry-skilling and talent-development network, has announced a strategic partnership with Lemon Tree Hotels, one of the country's largest mid-range hotel chains, to strengthen skill development and address workforce gaps in India's rapidly growing hospitality sector.

Through this collaboration, Emversity will integrate students enrolled in the NSDC-aligned  Hotel Management Diploma Program into Lemon Tree Hotels properties across multiple cities in India. The partnership leverages Emversity's work-integrated learning model, which combines structured classroom instruction with hands-on training in live hotel operations.

Under the program, students will undergo classroom learning during their first semester (6 months or 0.5 years), followed by full-time internships spanning 1.5 years across key operational areas, including Front Office, Housekeeping, and Food & Beverage Service. This immersive approach ensures graduates are job-ready and equipped with industry-relevant skills from day one.

Mr Rajesh Kumar, Senior Vice President – Human Resources, Lemon Tree Hotels, said, “At Lemon Tree Hotels, our motto is ‘we hire for attitude and train for skill.’ Our focus has always been to attract, groom and grow talent with the right attitude so they can become fine hoteliers. Currently, most colleges provide only basic theoretical knowledge, leaving a gap between learning and real-world job requirements. Emversity’s initiative bridges this gap by providing entry-level talent and skill-based education. Their courses and teaching strategy will empower these students with a well-rounded experiential learning, and coupled with the various moments of truth, we are confident this partnership will benefit the hospitality industry as a whole.”

Mr Vivek Sinha, Founder & CEO, Emversity, added, "This partnership with Lemon Tree Hotels represents the perfect integration of skilling and industry. By combining Emversity's work-integrated learning model with Lemon Tree's operational excellence, we are creating a direct bridge between classrooms and careers. The partnership will empower young Indians with practical skills and real-world experience, helping them build meaningful livelihoods in the hospitality sector."

The partnership will initially onboard students at select Lemon Tree properties, with plans to expand across additional locations in the coming years. Both organisations share a vision to strengthen India's hospitality workforce while creating meaningful livelihood opportunities for young talent.