Byju’s is in talks to acquire WhiteHat Jr, a new upstart focusing on coding for school students, signalling its ambitions at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has boosted online education.
India’s largest online education startup, valued at over $10 billion last month, has expressed interest in acquiring Whitehat Jr and has issued a term sheet, sources told Moneycontrol.
No deal has been finalised, as WhiteHat Jr originally planned a $50 million fundraise led by investors including Tiger Global Management and Singapore’s GIC. However, it is still considering all options, a source said.
Online learning platform Unacademy, which focuses on test preparation for competitive exams, had also expressed interest, but Byju’s has offered more money to acquire WhiteHat Jr, which was seeking a valuation of $350 million in the fund raise.
Moneycontrol first reported on June 24 that WhiteHat Jr is seeking a valuation of $350 million in the fund raise.
Unacademy, Byju and Whitehat Jr did not respond to mails seeking comment.
The one-and-a-half year old Whitehat Jr provides live online coding classes to children in the age group of 6 to 14 and helps them build commercial-ready games, animations and apps.
Byju’s has also earmarked funds for acquisitions. It is in talks to acquire another ed-tech startup Doubtnut for about $100 million, Entrackr reported last week.
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