Introduction
Next Toppers, an Indian edtech platform focused on affordable CBSE exam preparation for classes 9 through 12, was founded in November 2023 by three educators, Digraj Singh Rajput, Prashant Kirad, and Shobhit Nirwan, who each brought an existing YouTube teaching presence into building a combined, structured learning platform. This article looks at the founding team’s backgrounds and how the platform grew rapidly within a competitive Indian edtech landscape.
The Founding Team
Next Toppers was co-founded by three educators, each bringing a distinct subject specialization and existing digital teaching presence to the platform. Digraj Singh Rajput, from Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, serves as CEO and began his teaching career as a social science instructor before building a following on YouTube teaching history and social science. Prashant Kirad, who runs the YouTube channel ExpHub and holds a B.Tech background, co-founded the platform with a focus on content strategy, mentorship, and curriculum development. Shobhit Nirwan rounds out the founding team as an educator specializing in mathematics and motivational content, focusing on making complex subjects more accessible to students.
Why They Started Next Toppers
The founders identified a genuine gap in India’s online education market specifically around board and competitive exam preparation, noting that many students struggled to find quality, affordable guidance, particularly outside major metropolitan areas. Their shared idea was to build a single platform combining live classes, recorded lessons, study notes, and mock tests, making structured, comprehensive exam preparation accessible and affordable for students across India regardless of their location or economic background.
The Company Structure
Next Toppers operates under the registered company SPD Eduventures Private Limited, based in Shahdara, Delhi, reflecting the formal business structure built around the founders’ original educational content and teaching backgrounds.
Growth Since Launch
Since its November 2023 launch, Next Toppers has grown rapidly, crossing over 1 million app downloads within less than two years, a notable achievement for a platform built without significant venture capital backing and operating with a comparatively small internal team. The platform has also reported drawing live audiences exceeding 200,000 viewers per session during exam season marathons, reflecting genuinely strong organic engagement, likely helped significantly by the founders’ pre-existing YouTube followings built before formally launching the platform.
Pricing and Positioning
Next Toppers has positioned itself specifically around affordability, with batch pricing starting around ₹2,500 to ₹3,000 for a full year of subject content, positioned notably below many premium competitors in India’s edtech space, reflecting the founders’ explicit focus on making quality board exam preparation accessible to students who might not be able to afford more expensive established edtech platforms.
Recognition and Awards
Digraj Singh Rajput, in his role as CEO, has received public recognition including the Times Power Icons 2025 Award for Excellence in Education and the Emerging Educator of Digital Bharat Award, both cited as reflecting the founding team’s broader impact within India’s digital education landscape.
Competitive Position
Next Toppers competes within a genuinely crowded Indian edtech landscape, ranking among a large number of active competitors in the sector, with larger, more established platforms like Physics Wallah and BYJU’S representing significantly bigger players within the same broad CBSE and competitive exam preparation market that Next Toppers has carved out a growing, more affordably positioned niche within.
A Note on Net Worth Claims
Various online sources speculate about the founders’ personal net worth or the company’s overall valuation, with some estimates suggesting figures in the range of ₹15-20 crore for individual founders by 2027, or a company valuation between ₹50-100 crore in future funding scenarios. It’s worth treating these specific figures as speculative estimates rather than confirmed facts, since Next Toppers has not publicly disclosed detailed financial information, and, as with many similar edtech platforms, these numbers largely represent third-party projections rather than verified company disclosures.
Conclusion
Next Toppers’ founding by Digraj Singh Rajput, Prashant Kirad, and Shobhit Nirwan in November 2023 reflects a now-familiar pattern in Indian edtech: educators building an existing digital teaching audience through platforms like YouTube before formalizing that following into a structured, paid learning platform. The company’s rapid growth to over a million downloads within two years, achieved with limited external funding, has positioned it as a notable, affordably-priced competitor within India’s crowded CBSE exam preparation market.