India's Mesa School of Business raises $11.6m co

Bengaluru-based Mesa School of Business has raised nearly $11.6 million (Rs 110 crore) in a Series A funding round comprising debt and equity, according to a company announcement on Tuesday.

The equity component of Rs 85 crore was co-led by Dharana Capital and existing investor Elevation Capital. The remaining Rs 25 crore was raised through venture debt from InnoVen Capital and Alteria Capital, the company said in a statement.

Mesa School of Business will use the funds to strengthen its leadership team and build capabilities in AI-led programme design and delivery, deepen partnerships with startups to offer students industry-led projects, mentorship and job opportunities, and launch and scale new programmes, the statement added.

Founded in 2023 by Ankit Agarwal and Varun Limaye, Mesa offers residential programmes focused on hands-on learning, with students building and running small businesses and developing and launching technology products using AI. More than 100 founders have taught at the campus, while students have worked on over 200 projects with startups.

“In an AI-led world, what will set ambitious young people apart is judgement, a bias for action and an understanding of how the world actually works – and those come only from experience. That’s why at Mesa, every student builds a real business with real revenue, uses AI on live problems, and gets feedback from founders who are always in the room. That is why startups hire our students, and why so many of them go on to build their own startups,” said Ankit Agarwal, co-founder, Mesa School of Business.

“AI will take over much of back-office work. Young people shouldn’t spend their early careers in roles that are disappearing, but building, selling and launching things. That’s what Mesa trains them to do,” said Varun Limaye, co-founder, Mesa School of Business.

Mesa alumni typically pursue full-time roles at startups or launch their own ventures. According to the company, the first two postgraduate cohorts secured an average cost-to-company (CTC) of Rs 26 lakh, while the top 25% of students averaged Rs 36.5 lakh. All placed students joined startups, including Zomato, Zepto, Urban Company, Scapia and Comet, with 58% taking up founder-facing roles.

Over the past three years, the school has expanded from a single postgraduate cohort to more than 550 students across three programmes: a one-year Post Graduate Programme in Startup Leadership, a four-year undergraduate programme in business and entrepreneurship, and Forge, a one-year programme for fresh graduates.

The company is backed by founders including Kunal Shah of CRED, Vidit Aatrey of Meesho, Abhiraj Bhal of Urban Company and Vijay Shekhar Sharma of Paytm.