Edtech startup ByteXL has raised 9 million dollars in a fresh funding round. The round was led by Elevar Equity. Kalaari Capital and the Dell Foundation also took part in the round.

The company trains engineering students in job-ready skills. It plans to grow its partner colleges from 40 to 120. It also aims to raise the number of students it trains from 200,000 to 500,000.

ByteXL said 7,600 of its students have been placed in jobs so far. The company was founded by brothers Karun Tadepalli and Sricharan Tadepalli. It focuses on colleges in smaller cities where placement support is weak.

The founders said the new money will be used for course content and hiring. The company also plans to add AI and data science programmes. It hopes to break even in the next two years.

The startup competes with larger edtech firms but targets colleges that big players ignore. Placement-linked training is its main selling point to partner institutes. The founders said employer demand for AI skills is driving enrolments.