The so-called metaverse is still more conceptual than a reality, but Invact Metaversity is betting on its value in education.
Co-founded in December 2021 by Twitter's former head of India Manish Maheshwari and former Microsoft senior engineer Tanay Pratap, the startup is based in San Francisco and Bengaluru, India, according to a press release and LinkedIn.
The company didn't disclose the size of the seed round but said it valued the company at $33 million, and the press release listed former Facebook India head Kirthiga Reddy as an investor along with a string of mostly unnamed individuals from tech companies and organizations, including Meta (Facebook), Microsoft, Twitter, Google, Amazon, Disney, World Bank, Softbank, LinkedIn and McKinsey.
Maheshwari moved to San Francisco in August 2021, according to the Economic Times of India, when his role at Twitter changed to senior director. He oversaw "new markets entry" and left that role in January to become CEO of Invact Metaversity, according to LinkedIn.
Pratap is CTO and based in Bengaluru, according to LinkedIn.
The company is offering remote courses that appear to be geared toward business and tech workers in India who are looking to learn practical skills without having to go through traditional, expensive business schools for MBA degrees. A fee schedule is listed in rupees and currently shows costs that are equivalent to around US$2,700 (or INR 200,000).
On its website, the company is careful to point out that this is not an accredited MBA program and will not provide its students with degrees. Rather, it's offering a 16-week online program that will result in skills and a portfolio to help students gets jobs in fields like marketing, finances, sales and strategy, but not product management or consulting.
And while it doesn't guarantee jobs upon completion of the program, the website says it will offer job placement services. The first course begins in May.
"Our aim is to bring education revolution for the future of India. Our vision is to make education experiential and affordable by building the most university-like space on the metaverse," the company says on its Notion site.
The courses will be accessible via a smartphone or laptop but a VR headset "will enhance the overall experience," according to a media info page.
A video explaining the startup's vision shows a simulated campus and classroom environment with avatars for both instructors and students that are reminiscent of Nintendo Mii avatars.
