Funding  

• GoStudent raised USD 95 million in a funding round led by Deutsche Bank and joined by investors including Tencent, Softbank Vision Fund 2, Prosus, Coatue, Left Lane Capital, DN Capital, and DST. The company plans to use this funding to advance its hybrid learning approach and AI integration, particularly in the DACH region (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland). (August 04, 2023; Silicon Canals )

• Byju’s missed a creditor-set deadline of August 3, 2023, to amend a USD 1.2 billion term loan. Discussions with the lenders on the amendment were reported to be progressing. Byju’s had previously challenged the loan’s acceleration in court and skipped a USD 40 million interest payment. (August 05, 2023; The New Indian Express )

M&As

• The founders of Aakash Educational Services Limited (AESL) announced that they would not swap the remaining 18% of their stake in Aakash for equity in Byju’s and will instead terminate the merger. Blackstone, a 12% shareholder in AESL, also postponed the share swap process. Byju’s’ acquisition of Aakash in 2021 was through a combination of cash and share deal, as per which the share swap would complete this deal. This development comes after Byju’s reportedly issued a legal notice to Aakash founders over their reluctance to proceed with the share swap. (August 09, 2023; Inc42 )

• SchoolStatus acquired ClassTag, a free parent-teacher communication platform, for an undisclosed amount, with the aim of expanding its offerings by integrating ClassTag’s communication app to enhance its existing data and communications platform. (August 16, 2023; FinSMEs )

• Noodle acquired Meteor, a Certified-B EdTech company, which would strengthen its position in the higher education landscape by providing a wider scope of services to over 65 prominent UK and US universities. (August 22, 2023; PR Newswire )

New product/service launch

• Quizlet introduced a new range of study tools for its 60 million monthly active users. Among these tools are Magic Notes, Memory Score, Quick Summary, Brain Beats, and Q-Chat—all designed to enhance students’ studying experience. These tools provide AI-powered resources that aid in creating flashcards, practicing tests, summarizing readings, using music for memorization, and using Q-Chat for personalized AI tutoring. (August 14, 2023; eSchool News )

• Age of Learning introduced a new program called “Homeschool+” that aims to improve learning by adapting to children’s individual needs and providing tools for planning lessons and monitoring progress. The program is designed for children aged four to eight and offers a comprehensive curriculum. It also offers a variety of benefits for home educators, such as research-validated digital learning solutions for math and reading. (August 17, 2023; BusinessWire )

Partnerships

• TinyTap , Open Campus, and Web3 organization Code Green have partnered to leverage tokenized educational content, interactive gaming, and blockchain technology to enhance children’s awareness of climate change and its impacts. The initiative includes a USD 1 million fund to incentivize educators to create climate change courses, a community-driven “Living Stories” project, a climate-themed sticker pack by TinyTap for course development, and a free climate-focused game on TinyTap’s platform. (August 17, 2023; Finbold )

Management changes

• Byju’s laid off 100 employees, which the company said was due to performance issues rather than a cost-cutting measure. However, the company is grappling with a debt crisis and one missed deadline to amend the terms of a USD 1.2 billion debt with its creditors. The layoffs are claimed not to affect the post-sale division, where 200 professionals were recently hired. (August 18, 2023; ENTRACKER ) 

Industry News

• Byju’s Tuition Center customers have requested refunds and, according to internal data obtained by Moneycontrol, this is approximately 60% of customers over a two-year period. The elevated levels of dissatisfaction with the overall course structure and quality contributed to the refund requests. Byju’s has disagreed with these claims but did not open any new tuition centers in 2023, despite its initial target of leasing at least 300 additional centers. (August 17, 2023; Inventiva )

• Byju’s fixed a server-side misconfiguration that was exposing the sensitive data of its students. The exposed data included names, phone numbers, addresses, email IDs, and loan details. The exact number of affected students is unclear, and the company did not confirm whether they were notified of the breach. Byju’s claimed that it was a temporary exposure of a small portion of its system for a short period of time. (August 25, 2023; TechCrunch )