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$300 million acquisition by Byju’s was done in 6 weeks: WhiteHat Jr Founder
KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)
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Summary
Edtech startup WhiteHat Jr has been acquired by Byju’s in a $300 million all cash deal in less than two years since the company was founded.
Edtech startup WhiteHat Jr has been acquired by Byju’s in a $300 million all cash deal in less than two years since the company was founded.
The startup had raised only $11 million in funding since it was founded in November 2018, making this among the fastest and most profitable exits in the Indian startup space.
Founder Karan Bajaj, who was formerly CEO at Discovery Networks India, said the deal was done in a matter of six weeks.
“I felt everything I could have accomplished on my own, I could move faster and better with Byju’s,” Bajaj told CNBC TV 18.
“I had interacted with Byju only six weeks ago. We have the same view of a boundary-less global world and we want to take our product to thousands of kids worldwide,” Bajaj added.
WhiteHat Jr has an annualised run rate of $150 million, with half coming from India and the other half from the US. The startup helps children in the age group of 6-14 years to learn coding and build apps and games. It has been conducting 20,000 live classes daily taught by 5,000 teachers.
The acquisition has several features rare in the Indian startup ecosystem.
It is a completely all-cash deal, and will see the founder walk away with a significant chunk of the money, given that he had not diluted his stake much, having raised only Series A so far. The startup counts Nexus Venture PArtners and Omidyar Network India as investors.
“As the Indian startup space gets more mature, we are acting more like the (Silicon) Valley,” Bajaj said. “I didn’t dilute much as a founder. It is a significant exit for me personally,” he said.
Bajaj will continue to lead this business at Byju’s, with a focus on expansion to new markets. “We are growing at 100 percent month-on-month in India and the US, and will expand to UK, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore by the end of the month,” he said.
The platform has helped children develop apps and games that are even available on Google and Apple’s app stores.
“A six-year-old girl created a sign language app for deaf kids because her brother is deaf. A nine-year-old boy created an app to check eye deterioration, since he wears glasses,” Bajaj highlighted.
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