EdTech decacorn – BYJU’S, who’s been on a buying spree, has completed its “umpteenth acquisition” by acquiring a Bengaluru-based computer vision and augmented reality (AR) startup Whodat for an undisclosed amount. The full terms of the deal remain undisclosed. BYJU’S will be taking full ownership of Whodat’s team and its proprietary computer vision platform.
Founded by Sriram Ganesh and Kaushik Das in 2013, Whodat’s AR platform detects a user’s environment to generate immersive experiences without the help of physical markers to overlay 3D content. Initially, this technology was only targeted at augmented reality apps but later it was used to enable applications in robotics and mobility as well. This technology will help enhance the students’ learning experiences and assist product development at BYJU’S.
Venture fund Ideaspring Capital which invested $600,000 in Whodat at the seed stage has exited post this acquisition. Previously Whodat’s clients belonged to the social, gaming, and retail sectors. Their AR platform equipped with computer vision enables developers to build applications that require location accuracy superior to GPS. Their software is integrated into their clients’ platform to provide contextual information about the users’ indoor environment.
Sriram Ganesh founder of Whodat quoted, “We are incredibly excited to partner with BYJU’S on a mission to make students across the world fall in love with learning. Whodat has had an incredible journey so far and this will leapfrog our impact to the next level”
“We are excited to have Sriram, Kaushik and the entire Whodat team join BYJU’S. This will help us accelerate our product roadmap to provide immersive educational products across our product lines”, says Anita Kishore, Chief Strategy Officer at BYJU’S
“We are excited to announce that we are joining BYJU’S. The team can’t wait to show how we will use computer vision to build engaging products for kids globally!”, quoted by Whodat on Twitter.
In July 2021 alone, the Edtech giant had already spent over $2 billion in mergers and acquisitions by acquiring Aakash Educational Services ($1 billion), Great Learning ($600 million), Toppr ($150 million), and Epic ($500 million). Earlier at the beginning of the year, it acquired HashLearn and Scholr.
BYJU’S is snowballing on its way to becoming a global online and digital learning powerhouse that offers a spectrum of courses – K12, early education, coding, crypto, exam-prep courses, and competitive test preparation. This acquisition will help them create intuitive and immersive learning experiences for millions of students across the world.
