Bengaluru-based Embibe acquires 90.5 pc in AI-based K12 learning platform Funtoot
Reliance Industries picked up a stake of 72.69 percent in Embibe last year, and 85 percent in NowFloats and 51 percent in Asteria Aerospace only last week.
Bengaluru-based AI platform Embibe, an edtech startup under the proprietary name Indiavidual Learning Private Limited, announced that it picked up equity shares in Funtoot (eDreams Edusoft). The deal was capped at Rs. 71.64 crore in cash, which holds for 90.5 percent in the equity share capital of Funtoot.
The proposal accounts for Embibe making a further acquisition of Funtoot's equity shares, up to Rs 10, provided the startup achieved its agreed-upon milestones. The follow-up acquisition is expected to be completed by December 2021, and Embibe's shareholding will thereafter increase to 100 percent of the equity share capital.
Aditi Avasthi, Founder and CEO, Embibe.
Also based out of Bengaluru, Funtoot, an education-technology startup for K12 students founded in July 2010, is powered by an AI engine that understands the user based on responses, errors, communication, and other parameters. Based on this understanding, the user is provided with a learning track tailormade for the child.
Speaking in an earlier interview, Rajeev, Co-founder of Funtoot, had said, "Providing static content on a mobile device doesn’t make learning any easier. Content still has to be read and videos still have to be seen. Funtoot’s AI engine almost replicates the teacher in a classroom and that is why its usage has been so widely accepted."
Funtoot’s acquisition by Embibe is reported to accelerate the latter's tech development.
Embibe is an education platform, which leverages data analytics to deliver personalised learning outcomes for students. Aditi Avasthi, Founder and CEO of Embibe, continues to drive the growth of the business in her leadership role.
Earlier, in April last year, Reliance Industries invested the rupee equivalent of $180 million in Embibe, over a period of three years. A part of it was towards acquiring a stake of 72.69 percent from Embibe's existing investors.
The transaction, which was subject to customary closing conditions, was one of the biggest in the Indian education and deep technology space at the time.
Only last week, Reliance Industries' wholly-owned subsidiary Reliance Strategic Business Ventures Ltd (RSBVL) said it had acquired SaaS platform NowFloats Technologies by buying its equity shares at a cash consideration of Rs 141 crore. The investment represents 85 percent holding in the equity share capital of Nowfloats.
The very next day, RSBVL acquired more than 51 percent stake in Asteria Aerospace for Rs 23.12 crore. RSBVL proposed to make a further investment of up to Rs 125 crore, subject to Asteria achieving agreed milestones, and this is expected to be completed by December 2021.
These investments will further enable the Reliance Group's initiatives in emerging technologies.
(Edited by Athirupa Geetha Manichandar)
