Edtech startup Adda247 acquires Veeksha to strengthen test prep amid competition

(L-R) Gaurishankar Singh, Co-Founder, Veeksha and Anil Nagar, Founder & CEO, Adda247

Google-backed Adda247 announced on June 19 that it has acquired Veeksha, a 3D experiential learning-based product, for an undisclosed amount, to strengthen test prep offerings months after Moneycontrol reported that the company made forays into JEE and NEET preparation.

The company said in a statement that the acquisition would also lead to Veeksha being merged into Adda247.

“We are working tirelessly to scale up our AR/VR capabilities and offer the best learning to the students coming to our platform. With Veeksha, we plan to simplify complex concepts into simple 3D visualisations, virtual experiments, explanatory videos and ultimately lead students to perform better,” said Anil Nagar, founder and CEO, Adda247.

Founded in 2016 by Nagar and Saurabh Bansal, Adda247 is an edtech startup that offers prep courses for exams in public sector banks, government departments, and the Indian Railways. The company caters to the learning needs of students from tier-two and lower-tier cities in India. Adda247 currently has 50 million monthly active users and over 2 million paid users, the company said in the statement.

Veeksha, a company based in Ahmedabad, creates immersive 3D Mathematics and Science content for new-age learners who prefer to learn on digital devices.  Their immersive and experiential learning modules are cross-platform and can be used by teachers as well as students.

With the acquisition, Adda247 said that it will be able to offer interactive learning modules to its students, allowing for a deeper understanding of concepts through enhanced visualisations. According to Adda247, early data suggests that the student cohort using this new content type has experienced a more than 30 percent increase in engagement.

“We are excited to introduce the expertise of Veeksha to all content consumers in the educational institution space. Adda247's large user base along with our ability to create 3D visualised content can pave the way for exciting advancements in education with AR/VR,” said Gaurishankar Singh, co-founder, Veeksha.

Moneycontrol had reported earlier that Adda247, which also has Google on its cap table, allegedly spent as much as Rs 100 crore to poach five teachers from PhysicsWallah, another WestBridge Capital-backed company, to start a new platform on YouTube called Sankalp.

This comes after PhysicsWallah acquired PrepOnline, a government job preparation platform, in October 2022 to enter the segment, which was Adda247's core business.

In October of last year, Adda247 said that it had raised $35 million in a funding round led by WestBridge Capital. The round also included participation from Google as a new investor, as well as existing investors such as Info Edge and Asha Impact.

This came at a time when edtech startups have been witnessing a funding dry-out as growth stagnates for new-age technology companies providing online education with offline classes opening up.