March 23, 2024
Anupam is on the left with his cofounder Sashank Reddy Gujjula of the startup NxtWave Disruptive Technologies
2016 IITKGP Alumnus Anupam Pedarla named to Forbes 30 under 30
IITKGP Foundation
IITKGP alumnus Anupam Pedarla (2016/B.Tech/MME) met his cofounders Sashank Reddy Gujjula and Rahul Attuluri (both IITians) while working at their first jobs at a startup incubator in Hyderabad. As part of their job role, Pedarla and Gujjula would go to tier 2 and 3 colleges to create awareness among the students about the latest technologies, the skills they should be acquiring, and entrepreneurship, recalls Gujjula. Pedarla and Gujjula identified the need for a bridge between academia and industry and created a startup that aligns curriculum to what companies expect from students. With 1.5-2 lakh (150,000 - 200,000) students on WhatsApp groups, their startup, NxtWave, has helped over 1,700 companies hire their tech talent.
NxtWave offers transformative learning experiences that empower learners for high-demand roles in technology. “We try to understand what companies are expecting from the students and align the curriculum to that. So we coined a term called reverse-engineered curriculum,” says Pedarla. In the last three years, NxtWave has helped close to 1,700 companies hire their tech talent and is in touch with more than 3,000 companies across India and other countries. They aim to produce 1 million job-ready, new-age developers every year.
In February 2023, NxtWave raised ₹275 ($33 million) crore led by Greater Pacific Capital, a leading international private equity firm. The startup is also backed by Orios Ventures, Better Capital and marquee angels, including founders of some of India’s unicorns.
NxtWave is an official partner for NSDC, under the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Govt. of India, and recognized by NASSCOM, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Govt. of India, and Startup India. By offering vernacular content and interactive learning, NxtWave is breaking the entry barrier for learning tech skills. Learning in their mother tongue helps learners achieve higher comprehension, deeper attention, longer retention, and greater outcomes. NxtWave now has paid subscribers from 450+ districts across India. In just 2 years, CCBP 4.0 learners have been hired by 1250+ companies including Google, Amazon, Nvidia, Goldman Sachs, Oracle, Deloitte, and more.