India's Reliance to acquire VC-backed Embibe
Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries has agreed to invest up to $180 million for a 73% stake in Embibe, a domestic educational technology start-up backed by Kalaari Capital and Lightbox Ventures.
Terms of the transaction are expected to be finalized in within two months and the capital will be deployed across the next three years. Kalaari and Lightbox committed $4 million to the company in 2014. The plan is to advance technical R&D and a geographic expansion.
Founded in 2012 as Indiavidual Learning, Embibe uses artificial intelligence (AI) technology, including data analytics, to create personalized lesson materials for students in K-12 schools, higher education institutions, and vocational training programs, targeting all curriculum categories across India and internationally. The company claims to have partnered with 60 educational institutions across India and served more than 15 million students.
“With robust AI stacks focused on content intelligence and automation, behavioral recommendations and student intelligence, our products have redefined the way edtech can impact the lives of students and teachers,” Aditi Avasthi, founder and CEO of Embibe, said in a statement. “We are supercharging our platform with the ability to deliver both content and outcomes for every learning goal in every student’s journey, to be the leader in personalizing education for India and the world.”
India’s education space is said to be the largest globally at the K-12 level, with more than 250 million new enrollments per year. Edtech is considered a significant entry point in this space due to smart phone proliferation and a relative lack of regulatory hurdles. Google and KPMG estimate that the domestic edtech market will grow almost eight-fold over the next five years to about $2 billion.
Other activity in this space includes a $13.5 million commitment in February for hardware supplier IMAX Program. Last year, educational video platform operator Unacademy raised an $11.5 million Series B round, and mobile-based test preparation specialist Byju’s raised $30 million.
Reliance Industries operates across a number of telecommunications, digital, and media segments, and has flagged education as a synergistic development area. It aims to connect more than 1.9 million schools and 58,000 universities across India with technology.
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