Edtech major Byju’s has acquired Epic, a US-based digital reading platform, for $500 million (around Rs 3,729.8 crore), just months after its $1-billion buyout of Aakash Educational Services.
Byju’s, which ranks among the highest valued startups in the country, will also invest an additional $1 billion (about Rs 7,459.7 crore) in the North American market.
Epic is a digital reading platform for kids aged 12 years and under.
The acquisition will help Byju’s expand its footprint in the US by providing access to more than two million teachers and 50 million kids on Epic’s existing global user base, which has more than doubled over the last year.
Epic CEO Suren Markosian and co-founder Kevin Donahue will remain in their roles, the statement noted.
Epic has a collection of over 40,000 books, audiobooks and videos from more than 250 of the world’s best publishers. It has made access free to educators, and more than 2 million teachers have signed up for classroom use.
