Vedantu acquires Instasolv, a doubt-solving app – the latest in buzzing edtech acquisitions in India

• While the details of the deal remain undisclosed, Vedantu had also invested $2 million in Instasolv in July 2020.
• The latest acquisition will bring on board Instasolv’s 1 million learners to Vedantu’s platform which is already 25 million strong.
• This is the latest acquisition in edtech, which has been led by BYJU’S and Unacademy.

Indian online tutoring startup Vedantu has acquired Instasolv, a doubt-solving app – marking its first acquisition in the buzzing educational technology space. While the details of the deal remain undisclosed, Vedantu had also invested $2 million in Instasolv in July 2020.

“Last year we took a strategic decision to invest in Instasolv to strengthen our play in doubt-solving, which is one of the key aspects of learning online. We have seen tremendous potential in Instasolv and share the same mission to democratize education in the country. Through this partnership we endeavor to change India’s learning curve through definitive outcomes,” said Vamsi Krishna, chief executive officer and co-founder of Vedantu, in a statement.

The latest acquisition will bring on board Instasolv’s 1 million learners to Vedantu’s platform which is already 25 million strong. Instasolv was founded in 2019 by IIT graduates Aditya Singhal, Nishant Sinha, and Bahul Arora.

Vedantu Innovation Pvt. Ltd was founded in 2011 by IIT alumni Vamsi Krishna, Anand Prakash, and Pulkit Jain. In April 2020, the company had raised funding in two tranches – $12.6 million and $7 million for a Series C round. Its last reported valuation is $280 million.

Vedantu’s acquisition of Instasolv is the latest in the Indian edtech ecosystem which has players like BYJU’S, the world’s most valued edtech startup and Unacademy, which was last valued at over $2.45 billion.

Startup	Acquired startup	Timeline of acquisition
Unacademy	TapChief	February, 2021
Unacademy	NeoStencil	December 2020
Unacademy	PrepLadder	July 2020
Unacademy	Mastree	July, 2020
Unacademy	Codechef	June 2020
Unacademy	Coursavy	September 2020
Unacademy	Kreatryx	March 2020
BYJU’S	Osmo	Jan 2019
BYJU’S	White Hat Jr	Aug 2020
BYJU’S	LabInApp	Sept 2020
BYJU’S	TutorVista	Jul 2017
BYJU’S	Math Adventures	Jul 2018
BYJU’S	Vidyartha	Jan 2017

BYJU’S is also reportedly in talks with a few startups -- including Aakash institute, Toppr, and Schoolr -- to buy them out.

With the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent lockdown that saw schools and colleges close their doors, online learning emerged as the next big thing to watch out for. The year 2020 saw India’s edtech startups raise over $2.2 billion in funding, with BYJU’S alone accounting for $1.35 billion, according to a PGA Labs-IVCA report.

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