Market Roundup | Online Learning Platforms in India - Edition 1 - EY
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Market Roundup |
Online Learning
Platforms in India
Edition – 1
April 2021
Prepared for
About the report
Foreword
We are living in unprecedented times.
The COVID-19 pandemic, which hit the world in 2020, has changed the world’s operating order. The impact of COVID-19 on global economy has been adverse, with the Indian GDP estimated to
have shrunk by 7%+ in CY2020. However, the pandemic has proved to be a water-shed moment for the digital economy.
With the increased need for social distancing becoming the norm, digital consumption in India has increased rapidly in 2020 on the back of increased online activity across sectors – from social
networking to entertainment. Given the specific impact on the education sector with most schools and colleges closing down, the EdTech industry in India was well positioned to benefit from the
changing consumer preferences.
At the onset of the pandemic, several large EdTech learning platforms in India provided free trial access to their learning content. The user base, reach and engagement on these learning platforms
increased manifold on back of closure of schools, physical coaching / test preparation centers. Several top players rapidly expanded their product categories and capabilities via organic and
inorganic routes.
The last 12 months have also seen strong financial and strategic investor activity in the sector. EdTech sector led the PE/VC funding in 2020 with ~22% share of investments. Backed by strong
funding, large incumbent platforms also chose strategic M&A route to fuel their growth and expand into ancillary offerings.
As we embark on the road ahead, we believe that this is an opportune time to provide readers with a backdrop / context of EdTech industry in India, a summarized view of the top learning platforms
in the industry and their performances in the past 12 months, review the financial and strategic deal activity in the sector and assess the key growth / investment themes for the sector in the next 6-
12 month period.
We hope you will find this an interesting read.
Amitabh Jhingan, EY LLP
Partner, Education Sector Leader
Note for the reader
This report is a first in a series of periodical industry round-ups on the Indian EdTech industry with the aim of providing the reader with a backdrop in which Indian EdTech learning platforms are
operating, tracking the performance of key industry players, and providing a view on the key deal activity in this space. This issue focuses on online K-12 learning and online test preparation segments.
Page 2
Agenda
Market dynamics and trends
Player analysis
Deals landscape
Page 3
1 Executive summary
Page 4
While COVID-19 led to a general economic slowdown, the pandemic has accelerated the adoption of
digital platforms, especially across various consumer facing sectors
COVID-19 pandemic, which hit the world over a Lockdown accelerated digital adoption with data Apps across various consumer categories
year ago changed the world’s operating order, with usage in India in CY20 increasing by 34% vis-à- witnessed accelerated adoption
the Indian GDP estimated to have shrunk by 7.7% vis CY19
Number of subscriptions for videos saw a
between April 2020 and September 2020
The time spent on mobile and application considerable increase along with the
Industrial and services sectors were severely downloads also witnessed increases of 31% and number of subscribers over the year
impacted 21% respectively in CY20 (vs.CY 19)
Growth rates Growth in app usage (CY2020)
Data usage (GB per person per month)
Apr 2020 – Sept 2020 Messenger Chats 92%
85%
12 15.7
-7.7 GDP
90%
Social networking 84%
CY2019 CY2020
75%
Entertainment 69%
Industry
Agri, forest & 3.4 Time spent on mobile (in hours) 57%
fisheries Games 47%
CY2020
3.5 4.6
54% CY2019
Music 51%
-9.6 Industrial
CY2019 CY2020
Video subscriptions
Application downloads (in bn)
(in mn) CY2019 CY2020 Growth
-8.8 Services
24.3 Subscribers 11 29 2.5x
20
Subscriptions 21 53 2.5x
Growth
CY2019 CY2020
Source: Secondary research, Ministry of Finance – Govt. of India, EY-Parthenon analysis
Page 5
COVID lockdowns and restrictions adversely impacted the traditional education sector; however,
the events accelerated the growth and funding for Indian EdTech sector
Mar’20 Feb’21
Nation wide lockdown Unlock 1.0 Unlock 2.0 Unlock 3.0 Unlock 4.0 Unlock 5.0
25/03/2020 – 07/06/2020 08/06/2020 01/07/2020 01/08/2020 28/08/2020 15/10/2020 – present
Only essential services allowed Re-opening of Relaxations in Gyms and Metro services Fear of second wave in Mar 2021
malls, hotels, night curfews yoga centres allowed; larger resulting in reinstatement of night
restaurants, Increase in opened gatherings allowed curfews and restrictions in several
places of domestic flights Night curfew states
worship and trains revoked
Impact on mainstream education sector
Schools/ Colleges shut NEP 2020 approved Schools allowed to Opening of schools at state’s
Board exams postponed partially open for staff discretion
No exams for classes 1 to 8 Class IX – XII students Fear of second wave in Mar 2021
voluntarily allowed in Non- resulting in temporary closures of
Last SSC paper cancelled containment areas schools in several states
Impact on Online learning platforms -- Total page views of top 100 websites in Education segment in India
2.4
Total page views
2.2 2.1
2.4 2.5 2.1 2.3
2.0 2.1
1.7
~150% growth in page views of top 100 education websites in 6 months (Mar – Oct 2020), of which 100% growth was in 2 month lockdown period
1.4
(Mar-May 2020)
1.0 Consistent performance on monthly page views during post COVID period indicating user stickiness in platform access
Mar-20 Apr-20 May-20 Jun-20 Jul-20 Aug-20 Sep-20 Oct-20 Nov-20 Dec-20 Jan-21 Feb-21
Source: Secondary research, News Reports, Similarweb data, EY-Parthenon analysis Page 6Several large players were quick to tap the post-COVID opportunities by diversifying into new
product-market segments via organic and inorganic means
BYJU’s Byju’s to buy medical,
Vedantu acquires
Key post-COVID growth themes
doubt solving app
engineering entrance coaching Instasolv”
Byju’s in talks to acquire leader Aakash in $1 billion Penetrate deeper into “Bharat”
US-based reading Mint, Feb’21
mega deal” Vedantu - introduced micro-courses, acquired
platform Epic”
TechCrunch, Mar’21
ThePrint, Jan’21 Vedantu doubt-solving platform for penetrating into Tier 3/
Airtel partners with 4 cities
Byju’s adds free live classes BYJU's acquires code
Vedantu to provide Most platforms launched multiple state board
for students amidst COVID- training app WhiteHat Jr
classes via DTH offerings to penetrate state markets
19 lockdown” for $300 million”
channels at ₹4 per day”
TOI, Apr’20 Mint, Aug’20
Mint, Nov’20
Acquire for growth and new capabilities
Toppr partners Byju – used M&A to diversify into coding, doubt-
Unacademy Ryan Group to
Edtech Platform solving feature and hybrid UG test prep
Acquires TapChief roll out its
Toppr Claims Unacademy - strengthened its leadership in test-
Unacademy To Focus On
Higher Education, 100% Growth In
integrated
prep with multiple acquisitions, acquired
platform
Placements With Paid Subscribers capabilities to focus on employability /
'School OS’” placements
Unacademy Pro” In Last Quarter” CNBC TV18,
Inc42, Jan’21 Inc42, Nov’20 Aug’20
Unacademy entered Unacademy Preps
Toppr launches Looking beyond traditional segments
the coveted Unicorn For Acquisitions With
Toppr Codr to Byju’s acquisitions in coding, gamification, and
Club after raising $150
million in a round led
$50 Mn Secondary
Round From Tiger
Toppr teach K-12 Unacademy’s acquisition in employability aimed
students coding” to drive growth in newer and non-traditional
by Softbank.” Global, Others”
CNBC TV18, Jul’20 segments
Entrepreneur, Sep’20 Inc42, Jan’21
Source: Secondary research, EY-Parthenon analysis Page 7The trajectory of the pandemic will have a significant impact on the short-term future of EdTech;
players and investors need to ponder on several open questions
FY22 the next 6-12 months Key questions to answer
Scenarios
Prolonged COVID 1
How will the future growth and
Large scale adoption of online learning engagement on the learning platforms vary
Mainstreaming / precedent-setting of online delivery of across the potential scenarios?
education
Continued growth in PE/VC investments 2
How effectively can the post-COVID
reach and engagement translate into
revenues across various scenarios?
How will EdTech Minor 2nd / 3rd waves
evolve in the short- Gradual resumption of physical learning
3
What are the new growth opportunities
term – next 6-12 Wider acceptance of hybrid learning – potential for for EdTech platforms in the future?
months? B2B2C models, especially on K-12
Non-critical learning needs to be delayed / shifted online
4
How are unit economics / profitability
likely to change under various scenarios?
Quick recoveries
Potential drop in m-o-m EdTech growth 5
Competition from offline players
What will be the impact on strategic M&A
Increased focus on monetization of current base
and consolidation within the industry?
Source: EY-Parthenon analysis Page 82 Player analysis
Page 9Player analysis
There are several large online learning platforms in India, with most of them focusing on B2C K12
and test prep segments of the market
Total funding raised (US$ million) We have analyzed the performance of these top four K12 / test
Online K-12 / Test Prep Players prep centric players on multiple parameters including:
The Indian EdTech landscape has a long tail of smaller players –
a total of 4,450 startups in 2020 with over 1,150 being
shut down and many more coming up
1 Product categories and language
coverage
2,770
Player Valuation As on date
2 Proposition and pricing
US$
Byju’s
Unacademy
13 bn
2 bn
March 2021
Jan, 2021
3 Reach of these learning platforms
Vedantu 600 mn July, 2020
440
206
Toppr 150 mn July, 2020
4 Engagement metrics
107 69 67 50 39 28 23
5
Vedantu
Byju's
Unacademy
Classplus
Toppr
Extramarks
Cuemath
Lead School
DoubtNut
Next Education
Social media engagement
The above analysis has been based on multiple sources including
details available at the websites / apps, secondary search and
We have shortlisted the top 4 players (by standard third party databases such as Similarweb, Alexa rankings,
funding raised) for a deeper assessment B2B-centric players RivalIQ, Tracxn, and other such databases.
Data as on March 31, 2021 B2C-centric players
Source: Tracxn, EY-Parthenon analysis
Page 10Player analysis – categories and language`s (K12)
Toppr has the widest coverage across grades and boards in the K12 segment; Byju’s offerings
cover key central and state boards in India
Byju’s Toppr* Unacademy Vedantu*
No. of No. of No. of No. of No. of No. of No. of
Offerings Offerings No. of boards Offerings Offerings
languages boards languages languages boards languages boards
Reading classes for ages
Pre K and K-5 ✓ ✓ K-5 only X ✓ 4 – 6 + K1-5
Grades 6 to 8
CBSE ✓ 1 ‒ ✓ 1 ‒ ✓ 2 ‒ ✓ 2
-
1
State boards ✓ 1 9 ✓ 1 20 X ‒ ‒ ✓ 2
1-on-1
3
Other boards ✓ 1
1
✓ 1 3 X ‒ ‒ ✓ 2 IB/IGCSE:
(IGCSE, IB, ICSE) Only ICSE
only 1-on-1
Grades 9 to 10 ✓
2
(+ French
CBSE ✓ 1 ‒ ✓ 1 ‒ ✓
as a
‒ ✓ 2 -
subject)
State boards ✓ 1 9 ✓ 1 20 ✓ 4 1 ✓ 2 1
3
Other boards 1
(IGCSE, IB, ICSE) ✓ 1
Only ICSE ✓ 1 3 X ‒ ‒ ✓ 2 IB/IGCSE:
only1-on-1
Grades 11 to 12
CBSE X Byju’s offers its K 11- ✓ 1 ‒ ✓ 2 ‒ ✓ 2
-
12 course as a 1
State boards X
bundle with the JEE / ✓ 1 20 X ‒ ‒ ✓ 2
only 1-on-1
NEET package 3
Other boards 3
(IGCSE, IB, ICSE)
X ✓ 1 Commerce: X ‒ ‒ ✓ 2
only1-on-1
only ICSE
Scholarship exams, Olympiad and NTSE, IMO,
X ✓ 1 ✓ 3 NTSE X
standardized tests SAT, etc.
► Toppr’s portfolio of offerings has widest coverage (~20 state boards across grades 6-12) addressing requirements of ~85%+ class X state students in India
► Byju’s portfolio of offerings covers central and 9 key state boards across grades 6 to 10 addressing requirement of ~40% of students in India
► Vedantu offers coverage across central and 1 state board (Maharashtra) via its offerings
► Unacademy offers 4 languages for grades 9-10, and also provides coverage of 1 state board (Maharashtra)
*Note: Toppr offers coding classes for K-1 to K-12 on its Toppr Codr platform and Vedantu offers coding classes for children aged 6-12; Toppr also offers the Nepal Examination Board
**Note: Languages offered: Unacademy - English, Hindi, Marathi (NTSE, Maharashtra board), Maithili (Maharashtra board K-10) and French (CBSE K-9 and K-10); all courses are also offered in Hinglish; Byju’s and Toppr – English; Vedantu – English and Hindi
Source: Company websites, EY-Parthenon analysis
Page 11Player analysis – categories and languages (test prep)
Unacademy is the largest learning platform in terms of number of test prep categories and
language offerings
Byju’s Toppr Unacademy* Vedantu
No. of No. of No. of No. of
Offerings Notes Offerings Notes Offerings Notes Offerings Notes
languages languages languages** languages
UG entrance exams
JEE ✓ 2 ✓ 1 - ✓ 2 - ✓ 2 -
NEET ✓ 2 ✓ 1 - ✓ 2 - ✓ 2 -
BITSAT X - - ✓ 1 - ✓ - - X - -
CLAT X - - ✓ 1 - ✓ 2 - X - -
CA, CS, CMA X - - ✓ 1 - ✓ 2 Excl. CMA X - -
Others (VITEEE, IELTS, UPSEE VITEEE, WBJEE,
WBJEE etc.)
X - - ✓ 1 UPSEE etc.
✓ 1 IELTS X - -
PG entrance exams 8 8
CAT X - - X - - ✓ 2 X - -
IIT JAM X - - X - - ✓ 2 - X - -
GATE X - - X - - ✓ 2 - X - -
NEET PG X - - X - - ✓ 1 - X - -
GRE X - - X - - ✓ 1 - X - -
Government entrance exams
UPSC ✓ 2 - X - - ✓ 3 - X - -
Railway X - - X - - ✓ 2 - X - -
State PSC X - - X - - ✓ 11 - X - -
SSC and Bank X - - X - - ✓ 5 - X - -
CET (MHT CET, KCET, AP EAMCET,
TS EAMCET)
X - - ✓ 1 - ✓ 5 - X - -
Defence (CDS/AFCAT/CAPF,
NDA/Airforce X & Y/Navy)
X - - ✓ 1 NDA ✓ 2 - ✓ 2 NDA
Teaching (NET + TET) X - - X - ✓ 2 - X - -
✓ BCECE,
Others (ESE, BCECE, KEAM) X - - 1
KEAM
✓ 2 ESE X - -
► Toppr has a wide coverage across multiple UG test prep categories and several Government exam categories
► Byju’s has focussed on the biggest categories (JEE, NEET) in UG Test Prep and has also established presence in large Government exam category (UPSC)
► All learning platforms have presence in UG test preparation (JEE, NEET focus)
*Note: Unacademy offers courses for Ujian Tulis Berbasis Komputer (UTBK), an entrance test to higher education which is carried out by the Lembaga Tes Masuk Perguruan Tinggi (LTMPT), a HE Entrance Test Institute; State PSCs include MPSC, TNPSC, Kerala PSC, Karnataka PSC, DSSB, GPSC, OPSC,
JPSC, MPPSC & VYAPAM, APPSC & TSPSC, BPSC, CGPSC, WBPSC, PPSC, HPSC, JKPSC, HPPSC, UPPSC & UPSSSC and RPSC
**Note: Languages offered: Unacademy - English, Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, Gujarati, Bengali, Telegu, Kannada, Marathi, Sanskrit, Odia; all courses except for JEE, NEET, GATE, NEET PG, GRE, CET and ESE are also offered in Hinglish; Byju’s and Vedantu – English and Hindi; Toppr – English
Source: Company websites, EY-Parthenon analysis
Page 12Player analysis – pricing
Vedantu and Byju’s offer their courses at relatively higher prices than Toppr and Unacademy on a
per subject basis and offer a higher degree of personalized attention
Byju’s Toppr Vedantu Unacademy
Advanced =
Pro Lite: 36,000 (4 subjects)
Streaming / SD card = 30,000 (12 subjects) Plus: 15,000 (9 subjects)
CBSE class 9 price (INR) Pro Classic: 48,600 (5 subjects)
26,000 (for 2 subjects) Ultimate = Iconic: 28,000 (9 subjects)
Pro Plus: 66,600 (5 subjects)
40,000 (12 subjects)
Pro Lite: 78,299
2-year JEE course price Advanced: 70,000 Plus: 56,000
SD card: 135,000 Pro Classic: 1,08,000
(INR) Ultimate: 85,000 Iconic: 1,00,000
Pro Plus: 1,62,000
Package-based pricing with an
option to pay monthly in the Pro
3-24 months subscription plans
Lite package; upfront payments
Package-based pricing with with an option to pay in parts or
Package-based in other packages
upfront payment upfront
Pricing model pricing with annual Three variants, additional
Two variants one with an Two variants, one offering
upfront payment features such as unlimited
additional “ask” feature additional features such as live
doubt-solving offered in the
doubt solving and personal tutor
Classic pack and personal tutor
in the Plus pack
Conceptual clarity
Live & interactive
Core value proposition/ through visualization Platform for all your learning “Netflix for Live Education”
Best teachers
advantages Personalized learning needs Democratize access to high
Adaptive teaching
(Website) Unmatched individual Widest syllabus coverage quality education
Convenient & safe
attention
► Byju’s and Vedantu’s offerings are more premium priced in comparison to the offerings of Toppr and Unacademy
► In K12 - average pricing of ~INR 12,000 – INR 15,000 per subject vs. INR 2,000 – INR 4,000 for Toppr and Unacademy
► In Test-Prep – average pricing of ~INR 100,000+ for 2-year JEE course, vs. INR 60,000- INR 100,000 for Unacademy and Toppr
► Most players offer value adding pricing features such as discounts and EMI. For e.g. Unacademy offers no cost EMI on 6 months and above subscription plans. Similarly, Toppr
offers EMI on courses costing >INR 15,000.
Note: Data as on 26 March 2020
Source: Company websites, EY-Parthenon analysis
Page 13Player analysis – reach metrics
Toppr’s wide coverage esp. in K12 segment has helped in high traffic generation; Toppr and
Byju’s record high monthly visits and unique visitors
Apr-20 May-20 Jun-20 Jul-20 Aug-20 Sept-20 Oct-20 Nov-20 Dec-20 Jan-21 Feb-21
Toppr had multiple product launches in Q2 (Answr,
Codr, OS) driving higher website visits
Toppr
Topprand andByju’s
Byju’s
haveconstantly
have constantly been
been
Website visits
(mobile + desktop)
able to generate high
able to generate the
traffic (visits, and
highest traffic (visits,
unique visitors) vis-à-
and unique visitors)
vis other learning
vis-à-vis
platforms other learning
platforms on back of
their marketing
Typical drivers for high
traffic include wide
campaigns and
coverage
product of grades
launches
and boards (esp. on
K12 segment), multiple
product offerings
Unique visitors
(learning platform,
(mobile + desktop)
coding, doubt-solving,
etc.) to the same
target segment,
consistent marketing
campaigns
K12 segment in India constitutes of ~260 mn+ students / learners of which ~92 mn+ are in private unaided schools*
Byju’s
Toppr and Byju have a wide coverage (in terms of grades x boards) across K12 segment as well as have ancillary offerings (Coding, Doubt-Solving)
Toppr
Vedantu, which is a premium priced proposition, has coverage of central and 1 state board
Unacademy
Unacademy’s coverage in K12 segment is limited, given its historic focus on a UG, PG, Government test prep segments Vedantu
Source: SimilarWeb, EY-Parthenon analysis
Page 14Player analysis – engagement (stickiness)
Unacademy has the highest number of MAUs and DAUs on its platform; Byju’s records higher
number of MAUs and DAUs compared to other K12 centric platforms
Apr-20 May-20 Jun-20 Jul-20 Aug-20 Sept-20 Oct-20 Nov-20 Dec-20 Jan-21 Feb-21
App MAUs
Toppr and Byju’s
Unacademy is the
have constantly been
largest platform in
able
terms ofgenerate
to App DAUs the
highest traffic
and MAUs over the(visits,
Multiple government tests (SSC, Bank, Railway,
and
past unique
12 month visitors)
period
Defence) announced in the Oct-Dec period
vis-à-vis other learning
High MAUon
platforms andback
DAUof
App DAUs
are driven
their by user
marketing
engagement
campaignsand and
stickiness; this, in turn,
product launches
is driven by app
features (UX, UI,
navigability, content
quality) as well as by
consumer preferences
(relevance of offerings
DAU:MAU
to the market,
seasonality in the
(App)
need, user
demographics, other
factors)
Byju’s
Unacademy scores the highest in terms of stickiness of the offerings with strong MAUs, DAUs and DAU : MAU ratios.
Toppr
High user stickiness for Unacademy is driven by its relevant suite of offerings for users (esp. on Government test prep segment), unique rock star
faculty model, and relatively shorter test preparation periods (esp. for government and PG test prep segments) Unacademy
Vedantu
Byju’s score well on MAU and DAU engagement metrics as well on back of its engaging content and personalised attention
Source: SimilarWeb, EY-Parthenon analysis
Page 15Player analysis – engagement (interactivity)
Unacademy and Vedantu have higher engagement in terms of page views and average daily time
spent on site
Parameter Byju’s Toppr Unacademy Vedantu
Average Daily Time
Spent on Site (mm:ss)
02:46 03:53 05:45 05:31 Unacademy’s large
number of product
categories on test
prep segment
results in better user
engagement /
Average daily page interactions
views per visitor (#)
2.03 3.02 4.39 3.34
resulting in higher
visit duration, page
views and low
bounce rates
Bounce Rate 67.6% 59.4% 45.8% 52.9%
Unacademy and Vedantu score higher in user engagement / interactions in terms of visit duration and page views
This is driven by app-specific features (UX, UI, AI/ ML based recommendation engine, engaging content), delivery model (Live vs. recorded, degree of personalised
attention) and user profile (user demographics, needs, relevance of product offerings, etc.)
Data as on March 30, 2021 | Last 90 day average
Source: Alexa, EY-Parthenon analysis
Page 16Player analysis – engagement (social media)
Byju’s and Toppr report highest number of followers on Facebook; Unacademy has the highest
number of social media followers and YouTube channel subscriptions
Engagement (March 2021)
3,000 YouTube subscribers – cumulative across channels (million)
media follows
88K 687K 160K ~3K
Total social
(‘000s)
2,000
2,118 1,000
1,285 1,309 230 6.6
0 44.3
3.7
Byju’s Toppr Unacademy Vedantu
0.4
follows (‘000s)
Facebook
2,000
Byju’s Toppr Unacademy Vedantu
1,000
1,150 1,270 1,040 143 Note: Subscribers on YouTube across 12 channels of Byju’s, 13 channels of Toppr, 177 channels of Unacademy &
32 channels Vedantu as on 31 March 2021
0 Source: YouTube, EY-Parthenon analysis
Byju’s Toppr Unacademy Vedantu
Twitter follows
2,000
(‘000s)
YouTube, has been a important platform for educational content and many EdTech
1,000 platforms such as Unacademy started as a YouTube channel.
1 6 119 7
0
Byju’s Toppr Unacademy Vedantu
follows (‘000s)
2,000
Instagram
1,000
959
134 33 80
0
Byju’s Toppr Unacademy Vedantu
Note: Followers as on 26 March 2021
Source: Rival IQ, EY-Parthenon analysis
Page 173 Deals landscape
Page 18Deal landscape
COVID-19 induced lockdowns accelerated the growth of online learning platforms; EdTech
funding witnessed 4.6x growth in 2020 compared to 2019
PE/VC funding in 2020 (by sector) Investments in EdTech (US$ m) # of deals in EdTech (#)
Online
B2C classifieds COVID-19 augmented
PE/VC funding
Logistics Tech Gaming +464% EdTech growth in 2020 –
4% 5% 4% 1,833 leading to a ~460% hike 59
Social 6% in funding
7% Others 28
742
20% 18
325
FinTech 12%
US$8.18 b 2018 2019 2020 2018 2019 2020
Spike in M&A
activity – primarily
Strategic M&A
416 20 led by string of
20% acquisitions by
22%
200 9 Unacademy & Byju’s
Hyperlocal EdTech 5
10
EdTech led the quantum of PE/VC 2018 2019 2020 2018 2019 2020
investments in India in 2020
Induced by countrywide lockdowns, 2020 played a pivotal role for the EdTech industry – this is further underpinned by the value of VC/PE deals in EdTech
Investments (by value) in the year grew by ~460% from 2019 – highest in terms of value till date
The year was also characterized by the highest ever volume of consolidation and M&A activity
Active investors included marquee names such as SoftBank, Silver Lake, Sequoia, Blume, BlackRock, etc.
1. All 2020 numbers exclusive of Jio deals
Source: Traxcn, EY-Parthenon analysis
Page 19Deal landscape
Funding in 2020 was predominantly late stage funding for the four large edtech learning platforms
to fund their organic / inorganic growth
Deal value
Date Investee Investor(s) Deal rationale
(US$ m)
MC Global edtech investments. B Capital, Tiga
Investments, TCDS (India) LP, Arison Holdings, Funding acquisitions/ Inorganic growth (Acquisition of test
Mar-21 Byju’s 460
XN Exponent Holdings, Baron Emerging Markets prep player Aakash)
Fund and Baron Global Advantage Fund
Lupa, SIG, Sequoia, Omidyar, Waterbridge, Expansion of the product to cover more languages, boards,
Feb-21 Doubtnut 31
Redwood, Surge etc. and launch of paid courses
Scaling of recently launched tutoring vertical and towards
Feb-21 SplashLearn Owl Ventures, Accel 18
research and development
Launch of the product internationally – improving presence
Dec-20 Cuemath Falcon Edge, Sequoia, CapitalG, Aspada 40
in the US
Tiger Global, Dragoneer, India Internet Fund,
Focused at strengthening position through acquisitions,
Nov-20 Unacademy SoftBank, General Atlantic, Steadview, DF, 86
diversification into K12 and potential international expansion
Sequoia
Nov-20 Byju’s T. Rowe Price, BlackRock 200 Focused on growth through acquisitions, improving
Silver Lake, BlackRock, Tiger Global, General penetration in lower tiers, category expansion to improve
Sept-20 Byju’s 501
Atlantic, Alkeon, Sands Capital, Bond Capital coverage and development of hybrid models of delivery
SoftBank, General Atlantic, Facebook, Sequoia, Focused at strengthening position through acquisitions,
Sept-20 Unacademy 154
Blume Ventures, Nexus, IIFL Finance diversification into K12 and potential international expansion
To fuel business expansion goals and also meet working
Aug-20 Byju’s DST Global 122
capital needs
Mitul Devchand, Helion, Kaizenwest, Foundation Development of AI-based Toppr School OS – unifying in-
Jul-20 Toppr 47
Holdings, Eight Road Ventures school and after-school learning
Coatue, Tiger Global, GGV Capital, Omidyar, Development of content and refining technologies for live
Jul-20 Vedantu 100
WestBridge, 360insights, The Rainmaker delivery
Source: Traxcn, Mergermarket, Secondary research, EY-Parthenon analysis Unacademy Byju’s Vedantu Toppr
Page 20Deal landscape
Top EdTech players were also actively engaged in strategic M&A for growth, establishing
presence in ancillary markets, and acquiring strategic capabilities
Deal value Stake Valuation
Date Target Strategic benefits
(US$ m) acquired (US$ m)
Unacademy – (only key deals highlighted) in addition to these, Unacademy acquired ~4 more companies to strengthen its leadership
Mar-21 Handa Ka Funda NA Leadership in digital learning in test-prep (esp. CAT, Banking exams)
Entry into ancillary market of job discovery and placement support to
Feb-21 TapChief 13.7
strengthen Unacademy Pro offering
Dec-20 NeoStencil Consolidate leadership in test-prep and in Tier II/III cites
Jul-20 Mastree 5 51% 13.3 Diversification and entry into K12 learning space
Jul-20 Prepladder 50 100% 50 Strengthen presence in medical test-prep for NEET PG, FMGE, etc.
Byju’s – (only recent key deals highlighted) in addition to these, Byju’s acquired ~7 more companies in K12 learning, gamified learning and career support
Aakash Strategic merger to benefit from leadership and strong track record in UG test
Apr-21 ~1000
Educational prep and ability to provide hybrid learning models
Feb-21 Toppr 150 150 Access to a wide syllabus across state boards and test prep categories
Feb-21 Scholr 2.5 Strengthen capabilities in doubt resolution to target Tier 3/4 segments
Sept-20 LabInApp NA Strengthen technical capabilities in virtual lab simulation for K12 segment
Aug-20 Whitehat Jr. 300 100% 300 Ancillary offering to cross-sell and strengthening presence in the US
Vedantu
Feb-21 InstaSolv 67% Strengthen capabilities in doubt resolution to target Tier 3/ 4 audiences
1. Acquisitions between Jul’20 and Mar’21 considered - Announced
Source: Traxcn, Mergermarket, Secondary research, EY-Parthenon analysis
Page 21Deal landscape
The key investments themes in EdTech are likely to continue to be around monetizing ‘Bharat’,
serving global demand, model innovations and market consolidation
1
Key investment theses
With top learning platforms so far being focussed on the “top of the pyramid” (esp. Tier 1/ 2 cities), the
Monetizing
platforms are now looking to expand and tap opportunities in Tier 3/ 4 cities to achieve scale
“Bharat”
The players are looking at various levers – sachetization of offerings, vernacularization, usage of free
opportunity “doubt resolution” platforms to garner traffic and win share from the unorganized market
2 Global foray
– market
entry
EdTech players are increasingly looking at expanding beyond domestic shores
Byju’s acquisition of Whitehat Jr. and Osmo for establishing presence in the US market
Unacademy recently launched test-prep curriculum for Indonesia
3
Online platforms are associated with inherent limitations around peer learning, track record, learning
outcomes, etc.
Innovative
Players are innovating and exploring hybrid models of delivery – Byju’s acquires Aakash with an aim to
delivery
provide the convenience of online learning with offline immersions
models
Players are also innovating on technology – with gamification, adaptive learning, etc. to improve user
4
experience and learning outcomes
Acquisitions provide EdTech players a medium for quick inorganic growth.
Portfolio While they help strengthen leadership in respective fields, they also enables players to quickly
expansion diversify by building capabilities in complementary offerings (K12 capabilities for test-prep providers
and vice versa)
Source: Secondary research, EY-Parthenon analysis
Page 22Terminologies
• Sum of all visits on mobile and website for
Monthly visits K-12 • Kindergarten to Grade 12 PE / VC • Private Equity / Venture Capital
the past 30 days
Monthly • The sum of all unique visitors (all devices)
Bn • Billion NEP • National Education Policy
unique visits on mobile and website per analyzed month
Average time • The average time on the website over the
Mn • Million SSC • Secondary School Certificate
spent past 90 days
• The average number of pages a viewer
Pages per
views in a given session over the past 90 Y-o-Y • Year on year B2B • Business to business
visit days
• Average percentage of users who view
Bounce rate only one page before leaving the website CAGR • Compounded annual growth rate B2C • Business to consumer
over the past 90 days
Downloads • Number of application downloads GDP • Gross domestic product US$ • US Dollar
DAU • Sum of all daily active users on the app CY • Calendar year INR • Indian National Rupee
• Sum of all monthly active users (users who
MAU log in even once in the given month) on the UG / PG • Under graduate / post graduate M&A • Mergers & acquisitions
app
Page 23Ernst & Young LLP
Amitabh Jhingan
EY | Assurance | Tax | Strategy and Transactions | Consulting Education National
About EY
Leader and Partner
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EY-Parthenon is a global consultancy dedicated to the education sector providing end-to-end
services to education providers, policymakers and investors. We have served as strategic
advisors to the global education sector since 1991, completing more than900 projects across Harshita Agarwal
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