Byju Raveendran, founder and chief executive officer of Think and Learn Pvt., speaks during the Credit Suisse Asian Investment Conference in Hong Kong, China, on Tuesday, March 26, 2019. The conference runs through March 28. Photographer: Paul Yeung/Bloomberg via Getty Images
India-based edtech company Byju’s announced it acquired US-based reading startup Epic for $500 million. The company didn’t disclose the value of the transaction in a filing to the BSE on Monday.
Following the completion of the acquisition, Epic’s assets and services would be integrated into Byju’s existing learning platform.
Epic is an education-tech company headquartered in New York City with additional offices in Dallas, Texas, and Bloomington, Indiana. The company was founded in 2012 by entrepreneur Chris Coleman.
Byju’s is one of the most valuable startups in India valued at over $1 billion and the leading face in the online education sector of India.
The company has invested in many Indian and international private companies including Accel Partners, Sequoia Capital, and Kalaari Capital
This acquisition is a part of Byju’s mission to create lifelong learners who are empowered by knowledge.
“We created Epic to make quality books more accessible to kids everywhere, and to build a safe place for them to discover the joy and magic of reading in their own way…Together (with Byju’s), we can help empower future generations of kids by fostering a lifetime love for reading and learning,” said Suren Markosian, CEO and co-founder of Epic.
Byju’s has been known to make big-money moves. In the last year alone, Byju’s has made acquisitions worth over $2 billion, including offline test prep firm Aakash, WhiteHat Jr., smaller K12-rival Toppr, GradeUp, and Great Learning among others.
