BYJU’S, the learning app, is now India’s second most valued startup. The lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic saw unprecedented growth in the number of learners subscribing to the learning platform. BYJU’S currently hosts more than 50 million subscribers and counting.
BYJU’S is also going global, they acquired a US-based startup Osmo, which develops educational games. Byju Raveendran says-BYJU’S is always on the lookout to acquire companies that add value to the Indian market and give a head start.
As the Edtech industry in India is seen surging ahead, a two-year-old company, Doubtnut, has made headlines for many right reasons.
Doubtnut is an Edtech startup with over 13 million active subscribers. It is an instant doubt resolution application that answers queries across multiple subjects such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology, in 11 regional languages.
How it works is pretty simple. You have a doubt, you type your question or upload an image, and bingo you get the answer. They offer video solutions; they have a huge video library of solutions across courses. Their tagline is “Padna Hua Aasaan”, which translates to learning or studying has become easy.
Although Doubtnut has not monetized their content, they have set some impressive market tractions. Doubtnut has attracted investors such as WaterBridge ventures, Omidyar network, Tencent, and Sequoia capital. They have raised a funding of $18.5 million.
With promising potential both in the education segment and the business segment, within a short period, Doubtnut is seemingly a new acquisition target of the Edtech industry.
BYJU’S is reportedly making attempts to acquire Doubtnut, placing the value somewhere between $125 million to $150 million. If so, will this be a good buy for BYJU’S? Let us find out.
BYJUS is a leader in learning and teaching and Doubtnut is a doubt resolution application.
Doubtnut application emphasizes on clearing the doubts of students. One can upload the picture or type in their questions to get an appropriate answer. Even though BYJU’S has a forum to answer all academic queries, they are best known for their innovative teaching methods.
Therefore, if BYJU’S were to acquire Doubtnut, it would create a splendid platform that can teach and clear your doubts.
Both platforms are accessible in multiple languages.
The National Education Policy 2020 is all set to boost local languages as the medium of instruction at least until Grade 5. Both BYJU’S and Doubtnut have been providing academic resources in many prominent regional languages. A combination of both applications can result in an enhanced repository for education without the language barrier.
Combining both the approaches and technologies.
BYJU’S approach combines world-class teachers, innovative technology, data science, and proven pedagogical methods to make learning a personalized experience. If BYJU’S were to acquire Doubtnut, they could integrate image recognition, natural language processing, and Doubtnut’s proprietary algorithms into their already impressive learning module.
Diving deeper in the Indian market.
BYJU’S cater their services to K-12 (kindergarten to 12th) and competitive examination segments. Also, according to Co-Founder of BYJU’S Divya Gokulnath, more than 65% of their subscribers are outside the top 10 cities. Doubtnut is ideal for 6-12 (6th grade to 12th grade), and test preparation for competitive exams. Over 90% of the subscribers of Doubtnut are from outside the top 10 cities.
(Source: https://www.surgeahead.com/company/doubtnut/).
BYJU’S has a strong foothold in Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets, whereas Doubtnut extends its reach to up to Tier 4 markets.
If BYJU’S acquire Doubtnut, there is no doubt that they will be able to dive deeper in the Indian market and make quality education accessible to all.
