Byju's Acquires WhiteHat Jr For $300 Mn The Mumbai-based WhiteHat Jr founded by Karan Bajaj in 2018 operates in K-12 segment, teaches students to code
By Debarghya Sil •
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Indian homegrown ed-tech startup - Byju's on Wednesday said it acquired WhiteHat Jr., - an online coding for kids' startup in a $300 million all-cash transaction to continue to mark its dominance in the sector.
The Mumbai-based WhiteHat Jr founded by Karan Bajaj in 2018 operates in K-12 segment. The startup teaches students in India and the U.S. to code, thus helping them develop games and apps.
According to a Tech Crunch report, WhiteHat Jr that has earlier raised $11 million from Nexus Ventures, Owl Ventures, and others will continue to run as a separate entity. The startup has an annual revenue run rate of $150 million.
Byju's which entered the prestigious club in 2018 will invest heavily in WhiteHat Jr's technology platform, product innovation and hire more teachers to meet the demand in the new market.
Commenting on the acquisition, Byju Raveendran, founder and chief executive at Byju's said, "WhiteHat Jr is the leader in the live online coding space. Karan has proven his mettle as an exceptional founder and the credit goes to him and his team for creating coding programs that are loved by kids. Under his leadership the company has achieved phenomenal growth in India and the U.S. in a short span of time."
"Technology is at the centre of every human interaction today and we had set out to create a coding curriculum that was being delivered live and connected students and teachers like never before. Integration with a visionary company such as BYJU'S will help take this idea to new heights and help unleash the remarkable creative potential of kids at a global scale," Karan Bajaj added.
According to media reports, this is the largest acquisition by the Byju's till date. In 2019, the company acquired Osmo, a US-based learning platform by paying $120 million. Indian edtech space has witnessed significant growth in recent times with acquisitions and investments. Byju's competitor - Unacademy in July acquired PrepLadder for $50 million. Toppr, another major player, last month raised INR 350 crore in D round.
