Airblack
Founded 2019 · 271 employees on LinkedIn · 11 known investors
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Airblack is an outcome-focused online skilling platform that trains people to earn a livelihood through hands-on courses. It targets the next generation of India's workforce with vocational, outcome-led education.
Also known as Airblack Academy · Airblack Ltd · Airblack Technologies Private Limited
Founders & leadership
Airblack was founded in 2019 by Videt Jaiswal and Vaibhav Raj Gupta.
Investors · 11
Also in the syndicate · 3
Funding
SEC filings, press & company announcements- Undisclosed amountpre-series B roundDec 2023
Michael & Susan Dell Foundation (lead), Blume Ventures, Elevation Capital, Info Edge
Source ↗ - Undisclosed amountSeries AJun 2021Source ↗
Source: company announcements and press reports — follow each round's link for the claim.
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Airblack is a Gurugram-headquartered online skilling academy that trains individuals in vocational, creative disciplines with the aim of helping them earn a livelihood. Its core offering is delivered through live, instructor-led "Do-It-Together" (DIT) workshops in which students practise alongside experts at home and receive immediate feedback, supplemented by take-home assignments and a peer community. Learning is delivered via the Airblack app and organised into monthly enrolment batches.
The academy is structured into specialised divisions, principally a Beauty Club offering a Certified Beauty Professional track covering makeup, hairstyling and nail art, and a Culinary Club offering a Certified Baking Professional track; the company also lists a brand called Zudo. Courses are taught by practising professionals, including celebrity makeup artists and pastry chefs, and its beauty and wellness courses are described as accredited by the Government of India's Beauty & Wellness Sector Skill Council and Skill India.
The company reports a student community of about 45,000 drawn from more than 300 cities across India and the UAE, with an average student rating of 4.8 out of 5. Its legal entity is Airblack Technologies Private Limited, and reported revenue for the financial year ended March 2024 was approximately INR 6.8 crore.
Founding story
Airblack was founded in 2019 by Videt Jaiswal, Vaibhav Raj Gupta and Pulkit Pujara. Jaiswal, an IIT Kharagpur alumnus, is co-founder and CEO and previously worked in product management and investing at Elevation Capital; Gupta is co-founder and CTO; Pujara had prior experience as an investor at SAIF Partners. The founders' original idea was a social travel commerce platform that connected travellers with influencers for personalised recommendations, initially operating through WhatsApp and Instagram.
Business model
Airblack operates a business-to-consumer subscription and fee-based model, selling certification programmes such as the Certified Beauty Professional and Certified Baking Professional courses to individual learners. YourStory lists its revenue streams as freemium and fee-for-service. Trial workshops are used to convert prospective learners into paying subscribers, with email and WhatsApp campaigns driving attendance at trial sessions; this approach was reported to have raised monthly subscriptions by 13%.
Revenue comes from learner fees for certification courses and subscriptions to its clubs, on a freemium and fee-for-service basis, with trial workshops used as a paid-conversion funnel.
Traction
Airblack reports a community of about 45,000 students from over 300 cities across India and the UAE, with an average rating of 4.8 out of 5. Within a year of pivoting to skilling it had over 25,000 learners from more than 500 cities logging over 45,000 hours of live classes per month. In 2024 the company reported a 70% course completion rate and 40% growth in its user base over the prior year, and it graduated more than 800 makeup artists at a single ceremony in September 2024. Reported revenue for FY24 was approximately INR 6.8 crore.
Latest developments
In August 2024 Airblack was named to the Forbes Asia 100 To Watch list, and in September 2024 it held a graduation ceremony for more than 800 beauty students from 300 cities. The academy has broadened beyond beauty into culinary and baking training and continues to run monthly enrolment batches for its Certified Beauty Professional and Certified Baking Professional programmes.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Airblack positions itself as India's top skilling academy and is described in coverage as one of the country's larger online beauty academies, operating in the edtech and vocational skilling segment. It has been recognised by Forbes India and D Globalist in their Select 200 list of companies with global business potential and by Forbes Asia in its 100 To Watch 2024 list. Comparisons have been drawn with broader online course platforms such as Udemy and MasterClass. Reported revenue declined 27% in FY24 to about INR 6.8 crore alongside a net loss of INR 8.88 crore.
Airblack's stated differentiator is its trademarked "Do-It-Together" (DIT) format: live workshops in which students practise simultaneously with an expert instructor from home and receive real-time critique, rather than consuming recorded video lessons. The company attributes high engagement and a reported 70% course completion rate in 2024 to this interactive model, and supplements it with a peer community of experts and working makeup professionals across India and the UAE. Its beauty and wellness curriculum carries accreditation from the Beauty & Wellness Sector Skill Council and Skill India.
Technology
Courses are delivered live over the internet in a workshop format through the Airblack app and platform, which supports interactive sessions, live expert feedback, take-home assignments and community interaction among students and instructors.
Go-to-market
The company markets directly to consumers online, running monthly enrolment batches and an application-based admissions flow on its website. Free or trial workshops are promoted through email and WhatsApp campaigns and converted into paid subscriptions. Marquee instructors, including Bollywood celebrity makeup artists engaged as guest experts, media coverage of students, and public graduation ceremonies serve as acquisition and credibility channels.
Individual learners in India and the UAE, predominantly women, seeking to earn a livelihood as freelance makeup artists, home-salon owners, bakers, online creators or other micro-entrepreneurs. Coverage describes the audience as the next generation of the workforce entering creative and beauty careers.
Geography
Airblack is headquartered in Gurugram (Gurgaon), Haryana, India. Its student community spans more than 300 cities across India and the United Arab Emirates.
History
Airblack was founded in 2019 in Gurugram by Videt Jaiswal, Vaibhav Raj Gupta and Pulkit Pujara, initially as a social travel commerce platform that connected travellers with verified power travellers and influencers over chat for trip recommendations. It raised $1.5 million in seed funding led by SAIF Partners in April 2019. When the COVID-19 pandemic halted travel and revenues fell to zero, the company pivoted within months to online skilling, launching the Airblack Beauty Club and a makeup artist certification programme in June 2020. A $5.2 million Series A co-led by Info Edge Ventures and Elevation Capital followed in 2021, funding expansion of the Beauty Club, new clubs and product development. In December 2023 the company raised roughly $4 million (INR 33 crore) in a pre-Series B round led by the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation. Subsequent milestones include recognition in Forbes India and D Globalist's Select 200 list (2023), the Forbes Asia 100 To Watch 2024 list, and a graduation ceremony for more than 800 makeup artists in September 2024.
Risks & controversies
Reported financials show revenue for FY24 of about INR 6.8 crore, a 27% decline from INR 9.3 crore in FY23, alongside a net loss of INR 8.88 crore for the year ended 31 March 2024. Public data sources also give inconsistent figures for headcount, ranging from 28 employees as of February 2025 to 151-250 and 268. The business is also the product of a full pivot away from its original travel model after pandemic-driven revenue loss.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 8
launches, deals, and filingsAirblack extended its offering from beauty and makeup into culinary and baking courses through a Culinary Club division.
Airblack held a graduation ceremony described as India's largest beauty graduation, with over 800 makeup artists from 300 cities.
Airblack was included in the Forbes Asia 100 To Watch 2024 list, cited for skilling 45,000 women across India and the UAE.
Company announcement of a INR 33 crore skilling-platform funding round led by the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation.
After pivoting from travel to online skilling, Airblack launched the Airblack Beauty Club with a flagship makeup artist certification programme delivered through its live 'do-it-together' (DIT) workshop model.
With travel revenues falling to zero during the COVID-19 pandemic, Airblack shifted from connecting travellers with influencers to online skilling in the beauty segment.
Airblack, then a social travel commerce platform, raised $1.5 million in seed funding led by SAIF Partners (later Elevation Capital); the proceeds were used to launch its consumer product and hire a core team.
$1.5M source ↗
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
In the news
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Airblackairblack.co · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Airblack do?
- Indian online skilling academy offering live, hands-on beauty and culinary certification courses to aspiring micro-entrepreneurs.
- Who founded Airblack?
- Airblack was founded by Videt Jaiswal, Vaibhav Raj Gupta in 2019.
- Who are Airblack's investors?
- Airblack's investors include Better Capital, Elevation Capital, Info Edge Ventures, Mars Shot Ventures, Vibe Capital, Atelier Ventures, Blume Ventures, Info Edge.