Just a few weeks back we reported that India’s homegrown edtech unicorn BYJU’s is about to acquire 4-5 US-based startups to expand its global presence. Now in a latest, the Bagalore-based startup has started its acquisition spree by acquiring Osmo, a gaming-based learning startup based out of Palo Alto, California, for $120 million, reported Crunchbase News, citing executives from both companies.
The acquisition will help Byju’s offer learning solutions to children aged between three and eight by tapping into Osmo’s physical-to-digital technology and content.
Founded in 2013, by ex-Googlers – Jerome Scholler and Pramod Sharma, Osmo develops and launched its app and a suite of educational toys that interact with its software platform through the camera of an iPad or Kindle Fire tablet. Kids can learn basic problem solving and spatial reasoning with these toys and through the game-like interface of the application.
BYJU’s founder Raveendran has known about Osmo’s product for awhile and the startup itself has been working to develop and roll out content for a younger audience, aimed at kids between the ages of three and eight and Osmo already had traction in this market segment and geography, which BYJU’S wanted to expand.
Before to its acquisition, Osmo had raised $32.5 million in outside funding, the last of which arrived in a $18 million Series B round. Mattel, Accel, and Upfront Ventures, among others, are investors in Osmo. The company will continue operating as a separate brand of hardware and software products after the transaction is complete, according to a statement from the company. Osmo is Palo Alto-based and has about 60 employees.
Byju’s has aggressive plans for the international market and will continue to make big investments in technology to further personalize learning for students, the company said on Wednesday. Byju’s is on target to triple revenue to ₹1,400 crore this year.
Source: IndianWeb2
