Bengaluru's Mesa School of Business has raised Rs 110 crore at a post-money valuation of around Rs 385 crore, as it looks to expand its programmes and weave artificial intelligence into its curriculum.
The round comprises Rs 85 crore in equity funding co-led by Dharana Capital and existing investor Elevation Capital, and Rs 25 crore in venture debt from InnoVen Capital and Alteria Capital. The round also saw a secondary transaction of around Rs 3 crore by cofounder Varun Limaye, cofounder Ankit Agarwal told ET.
Founded in 2023 by Ankit Agarwal and Varun Limaye, Mesa positions itself as India's first startup-focused business school, with programmes taught by founders and operators rather than traditional faculty. It last raised Rs 34 crore in 2023 in a round led by Elevation Capital, with angel investors including Kunal Shah, Vidit Aatrey and Abhiraj Bhal.
The fresh capital will go towards strengthening the leadership team, integrating AI into existing programmes, deepening partnerships with startups, and launching new courses — a bet that management education for the startup economy deserves its own institutional form.
Why it matters for founders
A Rs 110 crore round for a three-year-old on-campus business school — in a year when most edtech capital retreated — signals investors see a talent-supply gap for startup operations. Founders struggling to hire operator-grade talent may find Mesa's graduates, and its network, worth watching.