BYJU’S acquires Professional and Higher Educational Startup, Great Learning for $600 million

Bengaluru: BYJU’S, the world’s leading edtech company, with 100 million registered students on its flagship learning app today acquired Singapore headquartered Great Learning, a leading global player in the professional and higher education segment in a transaction valued at USD 600 million comprising cash, stock and earnout. It has earmarked a further $400 million of investment into this segment towards accelerating Great Learning’s growth. The acquisition marks BYJU’S strong push into the professional upskilling and life-long learning space globally with a total commitment of $1 billion, expanding its offerings beyond the K12 and test prep segments, and further accelerating the company’s growth plans.

This partnership brings together BYJU’S technology and content expertise with Great Learning’s sought-after professional courses at a significant time when the COVID-19 pandemic and evolving industry dynamics have encouraged professionals in India and globally to upskill themselves.

Great Learning will continue to operate as an independent unit under the BYJU’S group under the leadership of its Founder and CEO, Mohan Lakhamraju and co-founders, Hari Nair and Arjun Nair. With this substantial investment, Great Learning will accelerate its organic and inorganic growth in India and across global markets and expand its high-quality, transformational offerings to learners everywhere.

Byju Raveendran, Founder, and CEO, BYJU’S said, “Empowering learners with the right futuristic skills forms a fundamental part of our vision. Great Learning is a globally recognized and reputed professional education company and this partnership expands our reach into this new segment. We are united in our mission to provide professionals with high-quality and industry-relevant learning programs in this competitive global economy. With our combined strength, we aim to become a global market leader in this segment.”

Mohan Lakhamraju, Founder and CEO of Great Learning, said “At Great Learning, we have been working towards our mission of making high-quality, transformational education accessible to learners everywhere. Together with BYJU’S, we will be able to accelerate our progress towards this goal and meet the growing need for upskilling both in India and around the world. Further, as higher education moves online, we will leverage our joint strengths in technology, content, pedagogy and instructors to create unparalleled learning opportunities at affordable prices for everyone”.

Founded in 2013, Great learning, a boot-strapped company, has delivered over 60 million hours of impactful learning to 1.5 million learners from over 170 countries. It leverages a carefully curated network of 2800+ industry expert mentors to deliver high quality learning outcomes and works with more than 500 corporate partners for their upskilling and talent needs. With best in class completion rates and learner satisfaction, Great Learning’s approach is differentiated by its mentored learning model and its deep and proven commitment to quality.

Great Learning collaborates with the best universities in the world including Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), McCombs School of Business – University of Texas at Austin, Northwestern University, National University of Singapore (NUS), Deakin University, IIT Madras, IIT Roorkee, IIIT Hyderabad, IIIT Delhi, Shiv Nadar University, Great Lakes Institute of Management and others to offer Degree, Diploma and Certificate programs. The company also offers over 500 free courses through its Great Learning Academy to help college students and working professionals start their learning journeys. Great Learning is a global company and its teams are based out of Singapore, the USA and all the metro cities in India.

For BYJU’S, this acquisition reiterates the company’s focus on creating impactful learning products for students by adding more verticals, subjects, and languages to the same platform.

Launched in 2015, BYJU’S is the leader in offering personalized learning programs for school students in India. With over 100 million students cumulatively learning from the app, 6.5 million annual paid subscriptions, and an annual renewal rate of 86%, the app creates personalized learning programs for individual students based on their proficiency levels and capabilities which help them learn at their own pace and style. In just 6 months during the lockdown, BYJU’S has added 45 million new students to its platform.