Byju’s Acquires Coding Start-Up WhiteHat Jr for $300 Million

Founded in 2018, WhiteHat Jr offers live coding classes for children between 6 and 14 years.

(Photo: BYJU’S/Facebook)

Byju’s, India’s largest ed-tech startup, has acquired Mumbai-based WhiteHat Jr in an all-cash transaction, reportedly valued at $300 million, say news reports.

Founded by former Discovery Networks India Chief Executive Officer Karan Bajaj in 2018, WhiteHat Jr offers live coding classes for children between 6 and 14 years, while also teaching them to develop commercially-ready video games, animation, apps and other elements.

Byju’s big-ticket purchase comes at a time when the National Education Policy 2020 has announced that coding will be taught to students from class six – an age category in which WhiteHat Jr has substantial teaching insights.

In a statement on Wednesday, 5 August, BYJU’S said that it plans to further invest more money into WhiteHat Jr’s technology platform and product innovation while expanding the teacher base to cater to demand from new markets.

Byju Raveendran, founder and CEO of Byju's, praised Bajaj, who will continue to lead WhiteHat Jr.

"WhiteHat Jr is the leader in the live online coding space. Karan has proven his mettle as an exceptional founder and the credit goes to him and his team for creating coding programs that are loved by kids. Under his leadership the company has achieved phenomenal growth in India and the US in a short span of time.”

Byju Raveendran, founder and CEO of Byju’s

How will the acquisition help Byju’s?

• The deal will help Byju’s to meet the growing demand for coding in the K12 segment.
• Aimed primarily at India, WhiteHat Jr reportedly has 20,000 paid subscribers as of June 2020 .
• It will further help Byju’s to cement its position in the now crowded ed-tech market-space in India.