Byju’s acquires Aakash Educational Services

 

Byju's, India's largest online-education startup, announced on Monday that it had completed a strategic merger with brick-and-mortar test prep pioneer Aakash Educational Services Ltd. Bjyu's also stated that it will continue to invest in Aakash's development.

Aakash Educational Services will continue to operate independently following the purchase, under the leadership of Founder JC Chaudhry and Aakash Chaudhry.

“I am delighted to have Aakash Educational Services Limited (AESL), a market leader and the most trusted name in the test prep services, on board with us,” said Byju Raveendran, Founder and CEO of BYJU'S. Our complementary strengths will allow us to develop capabilities and design engaging and individualised learning programmes. The future of learning is hybrid, and this union will put together the best of offline and online learning as we pool our resources to provide students with memorable experiences."

Aakash Institute, which has over 200 brick-and-mortar locations and tutors students for admission to the country's top engineering and medical schools, is owned by Blackstone Group-backed Aakash Educational Services.

Byju's, based in Bangalore, raised over $1.25 billion in 2020 and was priced at $12 billion after raising $200 million from BlackRock and T Rowe Price last November. The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Tiger Global Management, and Bond Capital, co-founded by Silicon Valley investor Mary Meeker, are among the investors in India's second-most valuable startup.