Byju’s, the biggest edtech startup, not just in India but the entire world, has been making acquisitions left and right ever since 2021 started, as it strives to grow even beyond its current levels and make full use of the sudden rise in online learning thanks to the pandemic. A big part of education is examinations, and to tap into this market, Byju’s has acquired exam prep edtech firm Gradeup.
The company has not disclosed any financial terms of the transaction.
However, what we do know is that Byju’s acquisition comes at a time when India, and almost the entire world has shifted to remote learning. Examinations have been taking place at their usual time, even though the online learning scenario still remains a little precarious. This opens up a possibility for the right organization to come over and provide a better solution, and that is what Gradeup, or as it will now be called “Byju’s Exam Prep” hopes to achieve.
Moreover,Byju’s has already been making acquisitions in the exam prep market, having signed a deal with Aakash Institute for $1Bn, making it the biggest transaction in the Indian ed-tech sphere.
While Aakash is catered for students looking to crack JEE or NEET exams, Gradeup has a broader offering, and caters to students preparing for over 150 examinations over 25 categories covering government jobs and postgraduate entrance exams such as IAS, GATE, CAT, defence, UGC-NET, etc.
It has helped 25 million students till date, and offers a wide catalogue of features like live classes with faculties, study material, practice tests and assessments.
With this acquisition, Byju’s will aim to create a stronghold in the exam prep market, especially with Gradeup’s pedagogy and student reach.
“With Gradeup on board, we will be able to further scale and expand our test-prep offerings in postgraduate-level exams,” founder Byju Raveendran said.
On the other hand, Gradeup will be able to leverage Byju’s position as the market leader to grow exponentially and expand its reach across India. Compared to Gradeup’s 25 million, Byju’s is home to more than 100 million students, 6.5 million of which are paying members.
