Kaabil Kids

Sunil Raina is Season 3's most personally chess-passionate EdTech founder. A FIDE-rated player who won multiple district and state-level chess championships, and an INSEAD alumnus bringing global business perspective, he started chess tuition in 2019 after recognising that India's chess ecosystem lacked accessible, affordable, high-quality online training for children. "Kaabil Kids got aired on Shark Tank on March 19th and ever since we are overwhelmed with a huge parent response, everyone wants their kids to learn chess primarily to become better at it as well as attain life skills associated with this fantastic game. Its chaos at our end with huge volumes given the size that we are, a good problem to solve." Kitty Mahapatra joined as co-founder in February 2020, bringing operational and business development capabilities.

Kaabil Kids is India's most credentialled online chess training academy for children, combining a Grand Master-designed curriculum, FIDE-certified trainers, child psychology-informed pedagogy, and a technology platform with live interactive sessions, monthly tournaments, and performance tracking into a comprehensive chess education ecosystem. The curriculum transcends chess instruction to develop five core life skills: critical thinking (evaluating positions), problem-solving (finding best moves), collaboration (team chess formats), communication (discussing strategies with trainers), and decision-making (choosing moves under time pressure). These skills transfer directly to academic performance and professional development, making chess education an investment in the child's overall cognitive development.

Amount Asked: ₹70 lakhs Equity Offered: 2% Implied Pre-Money Valuation: ₹35 cror

Sunil, Kitty, and Grand Master Tejas Bakre walked into Season 3 Episode 42 as the most credentialled chess education pitch in Shark Tank India history. Having India's 11th Chess Grand Master and Commonwealth Gold Medalist physically present alongside the founders gave the pitch a level of chess authority that no amount of marketing claims could replicate. The pitch highlighted India's growing chess prominence post-Praggnanandhaa and Gukesh: Indian children were increasingly interested in chess, parents were eager to enroll them in quality training, but accessible and affordable online chess education was scarce. Kaabil Kids positioned as the solution bridging this gap. The financial metrics showed a young but growing business: ₹29 lakhs monthly revenue, ₹1.45 crore in first 5 months of FY23-24, 1,280 enrolled students, and EBITDA-positive operations.

mit Jain appreciated the business concept but exited. The niche market of children's chess education sat outside his automotive marketplace expertise. Vineeta Singh acknowledged the growing chess interest among Indian children but exited. She could not see how SUGAR Cosmetics' consumer brand marketing could meaningfully accelerate a chess education platform. Anupam Mittal gave valuable feedback about scaling challenges and customer acquisition costs but exited. The niche market size and narrow target audience concerned him at the ₹35 crore valuation. Aman Gupta was impressed by the systematic curriculum and Grand Master mentorship. He co-offered with Namita, bringing boAt's consumer brand marketing and digital scaling expertise to accelerate parent acquisition. Namita Thapar recognised the life skills development dimension of chess education, aligning with Emcure's broader children's healthcare and cognitive development positioning.

The founders asked ₹70 lakhs for 2% equity (₹35 crore valuation). After negotiations, Aman and Namita jointly offered ₹50 lakhs for 2.5% equity plus ₹20 lakhs debt at 12% interest for 2 years (₹20 crore valuation, total investment ₹70 lakhs matching the original ask). The valuation dropped 43% from ₹35 crore to ₹20 crore, and equity diluted from 2% to 2.5%, but the total capital matched the founders' original ₹70 lakh ask with two strategically aligned Sharks.

Sunil Raina, Kitty Mahapatra, and Grand Master Tejas Bakre accepted the two-Shark deal from Aman Gupta and Namita Thapar at ₹50 lakhs for 2.5% equity plus ₹20 lakhs debt at 12% interest for 2 years, valuing Kaabil Kids at ₹20 crore. The deal brought consumer brand scaling expertise (Aman) and children's cognitive development positioning (Namita) into India's most Grand Master-credentialled online chess academy, creating the specific strategic combination needed to scale chess education from 1,280 students to nationwide adoption.

Our research on Kaabil Kids revealed that while they did get a deal on Shark Tank India, whether that deal closed after the show is still unclear. Early signs suggest it may not have gone through. Despite deal closure uncertainty, Kaabil Kids experienced an overwhelming post-episode response. Sunil's LinkedIn post captured the scale of impact: "Ever since we are overwhelmed with a huge parent response, everyone wants their kids to learn chess. It's chaos at our end with huge volumes given the size that we are, a good problem to solve. Kudos to our team who is working tirelessly to address all parent queries." The company has expanded to new regions, added passionate coaches, and helped thousands more children become confident thinkers and problem-solvers since the episode aired. The monthly tournaments on the platform continue providing children with competitive exposure, and the 5-course curriculum (Foundation through National Level) ensures students have a clear progression pathway from complete beginners to tournament-ready competitors.