Exclusive: Byju’s acquires Mumbai-based doubt clearing platform Scholr

Edtech major Byju’s is on an acquisition spree. Even as it is in the last leg to acquire Aakash Institute and SAIF Partners-backed Toppr, the company has acquired another edtech startup. According to three people aware of the details of the transaction, Byju’s has acquired Scholr in an all-cash deal.

“The deal has been signed early this month and likely to be announced soon,” said one of the sources on condition of anonymity. “The size of the deal is in the range of Rs 15-20 crore.

Scholr provides video solutions for class 6 to 10 students to solve their doubts via Android and iOS apps. Students are required to click and upload pictures of their queries to find instant solutions across subjects including Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, according to its website. 

The company specialises in homework help across NCERT textbooks, state board textbooks and other board books. The app also provides academic support to users from peers and experts on the platform. 

“Soon after Byju’s talks with Doubtnut failed, the company started scouting for a startup with a similar DNA. Scholr fits the bill as its offerings are parallel to Doubtnut,” said the second person who wished not to be named. The acquisition of Scholr will also mark Byju’s foray into on-demand doubt clearance space.

It’s worth noting that Byju’s and Doubtnut were engaged in late-stage talks for a potential acquisition. However, the deal failed due to differences over valuation.

Entrackr’s immediate queries to Byju’s and Scholr did not elicit any responses. We’ll update the story in case they respond.

Incubated at Sardar Patel Technology Business Incubator (SP-TBI), Scholr was founded by Himanshu Nimje, Manil Gupta, Piyush Agarwal and Aniket Singh in 2015. While Agarwal left Scholr in 2019 to head supply strategy for OYO India and South Asia, Singh moved on from the Mumbai-based company in 2016 and is currently working at Dunzo as head of strategic planning, business finance and analytics. 

According to data available on Tracxn, Scholr has raised around $382K in multiple seed rounds from Zone Startups India, 50K Ventures, Edupreneur Village Fund and IIIT-H Seed Fund and Xseed Partners among its investors.

Since the second half of 2020, the Byju Raveendran-led company has been eyeing to strengthen its leadership position in edtech space. In August last year, it had acquired kids-focused online coding platform WhiteHat Jr in a $300 million deal. 

It also signed a deal to acquire the brick and mortar test preparation company Aakash Educational Services for $1 billion. Byju’s is in late-stage talks with Toppr to acquire the Zeeshan Hayath-led company for $150 million. Entrackr had exclusively reported the development last week.