Unacademy acquires PrepLadder for US$ 50 million
- IBEF
- July 8, 2020
Unacademy, Facebook-backed online learning platform, acquired ed-tech start-up PrepLadder for US$ 50 million. PrepLadder is a Chandigarh-based start-up that mainly offers preparatory help with medical entrance exams.
This acquisition highlights the choice of investors in the ed-tech start-ups in current times. Venture capital has increased to US$ 795 million in the first six months of 2020 from US$ 108 million in the year-ago period.
This is expected to improve Unacademy’s presence in medical entrance examination category such as NEET PG and FMGE. It has also acquired Kreatryx and took over the custodianship of CodeChef recently, as a part of its inorganic growth strategy.
PrepLadder was founded in 2016 and specialises in medical examinations and provides access to education services and preparation material for exams such as NEET PG, AIIMS PG, NEET SS, and FMGE. It was founded by Mr Deepanshu Goyal, Mr Vitul Goyal, and Mr Sahil Goyal and has an active userbase to have over 85,000.
"As we strengthen our position as a market leader in the test prep market, bringing PrepLadder on board will play a strategic role for Unacademy in the medical entrance examinations category. PrepLadder is doing great work in its field and we hope they go into more markets and continue this work," said Mr Gaurav Munjal, founder and CEO, Unacademy.
Mr Deepanshu Goyal, co-Founder, PrepLadder said, "We are extremely happy to be a part of the largest learning platform in India. Unacademy and PrepLadder are working towards the common goal of making quality education accessible to all. We believe that the synergies between both products will truly create a mark in the industry."
In February 2020, Unacademy raised US$ 110 million from social networking giant Facebook and US private equity firm General Atlantic at a post-money valuation of US$ 510 million.
The round saw participation from existing investors including Sequoia India, Nexus Venture Partners, Steadview Capital and Blume Ventures, apart from investments by Flipkart chief executive Mr Kalyan Krishnamurthy and Udaan cofounder Mr Sujeet Kumar in their individual capacities.
Unacademy has witnessed an increase of 100 per cent in its paid subscriber base given the emphasis on online learning. It also witnessed an increase in the average daily watch time across its platforms, with monthly watch time minutes at an all-time high of over 1 billion.
During the period, over 525,000 learners attempted various mock tests on the platform for competitive examinations such as UPSC, NEET-PG, and CAT, among others.
Online learning platforms have gained a large audience because of the lockdown imposed due to coronavirus pandemic.
Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.
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