Byju's set to buy edtech rival Toppr Technologies for $150 million: Report

Two separate funding rounds in September, led by Silver Lake and BlackRock, respectively, valued the startup at $11 billion.

Byju's, one of India's leading e-learning startups, is close to signing a deal to buy rival Toppr Technologies in a deal valued at roughly $150 million, according to a person familiar with the matter.

According to a Bloomberg report, Toppr provides online learning materials to students in standard 5 through 12. It is also backed by  SAIF Partners and Helion Ventures.

Toppr has also been a key target for Byju's, which has been expanding aggressively in recent months.

In January, Byju's was also on its way to acquire Aakash Educational Servies for $1 billion.

Byju’s and Toppr representatives did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.

Online education has become the hottest sector during the COVID-19 pandemic as students under lockdown have taken to online learning platforms at unprecedented levels. Companies like Byju's, Unacademy, Vedantu and WhiteHat Jr. have doubled and tripled growth in the last three months.

In September 2020, Bengaluru-based Byju's raised $500 million in the current funding round, which was led by Silver Lake, according to media reports.

It also spent the latter half of 2020 raising capital from notable names including Mary Meeker and Yuri Milner. In fact, two separate funding rounds in September, led by Silver Lake and BlackRock, respectively, valued the startup at $11 billion, the report said.

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A person who did not wish to be named due to the deal's private nature told Bloomberg that the deal to take over Toppr was close, but it has not yet been finalised.