Paytm buys online education startup Edukart in no cash deal

Paytm acquired online education startup Edukart and absorbed the team of about 50 employees. EduKart's founder Ishan Gupta has joined Paytm as Vice President-Business and will build a seller services ecosystem for merchants on Paytm which will include financing, marketing, packaging and fulfilment services.

The deal involves only employment contract so far.

“There is no cash consideration for the deal, and EduKart is separately in talks for a strategic sale of its assets like brand, website and content with education companies,” Gupta told ET.

Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma is one of the first angel investors in Edukart, which was founded in 2011. The startup raised $2 million in funding from cricketer Yuvraj Singh-backed YouWeCan Ventures, early-stage fund 500 Startups and family office United Finsec.

As per EduKart, it has more than 10,000 paid students on its platform and partnerships with more than 120 course providers.

"We just wanted to grow faster, but as the markhit a funding winter we wanted to be cautious. And we thought the team could do better as part of a larger ecosystem," Gupta told ET.

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