Kyt

Kyt operates as a global, online-first academy specializing in extracurricular activities for children aged five to fifteen. The company was established in 2020, with co-founders Bhavik Rathod and Tripti Ahuja, a husband-and-wife duo, launching the initial courses in October of that year. The inspiration for Kyt stemmed from a desire to create a valuable platform for their own daughter, which evolved into a solution addressing a broader market need for high-quality, holistic child development beyond standard academics.

Bhavik Rathod, the CEO, brings significant operational and scaling experience to the venture. Prior to Kyt, he was a founding leader for Uber in India, scaling operations to over a billion dollars in revenue, and later headed Uber Eats for India and South Asia. His background also includes management consulting in finance transformation at Ernst & Young and a previous entrepreneurial venture called EmployeeSocial. Tripti Ahuja, an IIM Bangalore alumna, had prior entrepreneurial experience, having co-founded 400 THINGS and an online exhibition platform.

The platform's business model centers on providing live private and small group sessions as an alternative to traditional, offline extracurricular schools. Revenue is generated through the sale of courses. Kyt offers two main learning products: Kyt Academy, which features structured courses up to 12 weeks long for in-depth skill development in areas like yoga, dance, and language, and Kyt Workshops, which are one-time classes designed for children to explore various interests such as animation, poetry, or magic. The curriculum is developed in partnership with professional educators and celebrity artists, including Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi for chess and choreographer Ruel Varindani. In early 2021, Kyt raised $5 million in a Series A round, following a $2.5 million seed round in late 2020. A significant milestone occurred in May 2021 when Kyt acquired the San Francisco-based edtech startup DIY.org, subsequently rebranding the entire platform to 'DIY'.

Keywords: extracurricular education, online learning, edtech, children's courses, skill development, K-12 education, live online classes, Bhavik Rathod, Tripti Ahuja, Sequoia Surge, Alpha Wave Global, virtual learning, kids activities, online academy, chess classes, dance instruction, yoga for kids, creative writing courses, public speaking for children, DIY.org