The Indian e-learning company also revealed plans to invest $1bn in North America
Byju's founder and CEO Byju Raveendran. (Credit: cherian_in/Wikipedia.org)
Byju’s, an Indian educational technology company, has acquired Epic, a US-based digital reading platform for kids aged 12 years and under, for $500m.
Epic brings together a collection of more than 40,000 popular books, audiobooks, and videos from over 250 publishers on its digital platform.
Epic CEO and co-founder Suren Markosian said: “We created Epic to make quality books more accessible to kids everywhere, and to build a safe place for them to discover the joy and magic of reading in their own way.
“The alignment of our missions and shared passion makes Byju’s the perfect partner, as we’re confident this acquisition will ignite excitement for learning around the world.
“Together, we can help empower future generations of kids by fostering a lifetime love for reading and learning.”
Byju’s said that the transaction will help grow its presence in the US by gaining access to Epic’s global user-base of over two million teachers and 50 million kids.
According to Byju’s, fluency in reading is essential for academic development as issues with this skill can curb the ability of students to learn other subjects as they advance to later grades.
Byju’s founder and CEO Byju Raveendran said: “Our partnership with Epic will enable us to create engaging and interactive reading and learning experiences for children globally.
“Our mission is to fuel curiosity and make students fall in love with learning. Knowing that Epic and its products are rooted in the same mission, it was a natural fit. Together we have the opportunity to create impactful experiences for children to become life-long learners.”
Byju’s said that it has aggressive plans for expansion into global and US markets. In this connection, the company will invest $1bn in North America to fast track its vision to help students to love learning.
The company expects the acquisition of Epic to result in considerable investments in technology for advancing customised learning for students apart from enabling it to become a natural part of the learning culture in the US.
In 2019, the Indian online tutoring start-up had acquired US-based educational games company Osmo for $120m. Osmo’s computer vision technology has been subsequently integrated by Byju’s into its products.