Tackling maths anxiety with games; Adda247 enters CA market with Ekagrata

Hello,

Today’s forecast: cloudy, with a downpour of edtech deals. 

Edtech service provider Schoolnet acquired quiz-based learning platform Genius Teacher in an all-stock “multi-million dollar valuation” deal. 

This followed shortly after Google-backed edtech firm Adda247 acquired CA test preparation firm Ekagrata Eduserv. Neither disclosed the value of the respective acquisitions.

Meanwhile, Paytm went on a rollercoaster ride of highs and lows.

Reuters reported that the payments firm secured approval to invest $6 million in key subsidiary Paytm Payment Services. 

The caveat? An investigation into alleged forced terminations at Paytm by the Regional Labour Commissioner of Bengaluru, who has invited One97 Communications management and affected employees for a meeting on July 10.

You win some, you lose some. And nobody understands that more than Kotak Mahindra right now.

The bank has been asked to assist regulators as part of their probe into Hindenburg’s short-selling report against Gautam Adani’s empire. One of Kotak Mahindra Bank’s funds was the vehicle through which US-based hedge fund Hindenburg Research shorted Adani shares.

Lastly, chocolate producers may soon experience bitter aftertastes. 

Low prices and payment delays are pushing Ghana's cocoa farmers to sell to cocoa cartels, siphoning border supplies and raising doubt over next season's output from the world’s second-largest producer.

ICYMI: Dior’s statement of elegant luxury may be hiding darker undertones.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Tackling maths anxiety with games
• Adda247 enters CA market with Ekagrata
• Inside Route Mobile’s journey

Here’s your trivia for today: What unique deterrent is used at the Wimbledon Championships to avoid interference from birds during matches?

In-focus

Tackling maths anxiety with games

Teaching mathematics often lacks a connection with practical applications. As a result, students do not see the relevance of mathematical concepts in the real world, hindering their engagement with the subject and resulting in fear and anxiety. 

Driven by her understanding of the gaps in math education and the positive impact of game-based learning, Vidya Jayaraman founded the learning startup Inteligen last year.

Math learning:

• The B2B and B2C startup focuses on game-based learning for mathematics and critical thinking for a diverse audience, including children and adults.
• Inteligen is also prototyping a ‘Math Teacher Bot’ to teach using the playway methodology globally. “Our approach is designed to be inclusive, catering to diverse learning needs without segregating on the basis of ability,” says Jayaraman. 
• While Inteligen’s games are free to play, the startup earns through advertising revenue on its apps. For individuals who prefer an uninterrupted ad-free experience, it plans to charge a small fee going forward.

Acquisitions

Adda247 enters CA market with Ekagrata

Google-backed edtech firm Adda247 has acquired Ekagrata Eduserv, a company specialising in chartered accountancy (CA) test preparation, marking the former’s entry into the CA test prep market and expanding its educational offerings. The company did not disclose the terms of the current transaction, including the deal size.

“Over the next several years, we aim to invest substantially in this category and establish a leadership position in the CA test preparation market,” said Anil Nagar, Founder and CEO of Adda247.

Key takeaways:

• Ekagrata's acquisition is expected to expand Adda247's user base and capture a share of the CA test preparation market, adding to its current 40 million monthly users.
• The acquisition will integrate Ekagrata’s founder and employees into Adda247, making Ekagrata a wholly-owned brand of Adda247, with Agrawal leading the CA category as a director.
• Gurugram-based Adda247’s previous acquisitions include the UPSC prep platform StudyIQ in January 2021 and the 3D experiential learning platform Veeksha in July 2023.

Interview

Inside Route Mobile’s journey

The story of Route Mobile is not just one of perseverance and determination, but it also shows that businesses built with the right product-market-fit can scale without external funding. MD and Group CEO Rajdip Gupta has been able to build Route Mobile into a listed company on the Indian stock exchanges with a market cap of ~Rs 11,170 crore in 2024. 

The journey:

• He started building Route Mobile with just $2,000 (~Rs 1 lakh) as a bootstrapped company. Even the initial platform was made from scratch by Rajdip himself at home using a second-hand PC.
• Route Mobile’s first acquisition was Malta-based 365squared, an SMS-based firewall solutions company. This was followed by a few more in markets including Latin America over the next few years.
• In September 2020, it was listed on the Indian stock exchanges at a 105% premium over the issue price. More than the listing, what reinvigorated Rajdip was that the IPO became a wealth-creation event for his employees, including office attendants.

News & updates

• Impairment: British energy company BP expects to book an impairment of up to $2 billion for the second quarter, and warned that weak oil trading and lower refining margins would hurt earnings.
• Plunge: Boeing said on Tuesday it delivered more commercial jets in June than in any other month this year, but the total of 44 planes represented a 27% drop on an annual basis amid commercial and legal challenges.
• AI boom: China is leading the world in adopting generative AI, a new survey by US AI and analytics software company SAS and Coleman Parkes Research shows, with 83% of Chinese respondents saying they used generative AI, the technology underpinning ChatGPT.

What unique deterrent is used at the Wimbledon Championships to avoid interference from birds during matches?

Answer: Hawks. Currently, Rufus the Harris's Hawk has been in charge of scaring away pigeons from the court for the 16th year in a row. 

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