India’s fastest growing EdTech startup Unacademy has acquired PrepLadder for $50 million in a cash and stock deal. PrepLadder focuses on test preparation for NEET PG and Foreign Medical Graduates Exam. Post the acquisition, entire 250-member team of the medical preparation platform will join the Unacademy Group including the founders- Deepanshu Goyal, Vitul Goyal, and Sahil Goyal.
With PrepLadder, Unacademy has taken over 4 companies in education space in last two years including government study platform Wifistudy, competitive programming website CodeChef and GATE coaching platform Kreatryx.
“Bringing PrepLadder on board will play a strategic role for Unacademy in the medical entrance examinations category,” said Gaurav Munjal, cofounder and CEO of Unacademy. Backed by Facebook and Sequoia Capital, Unacademy regards this move as an inorganic growth strategy. “The exponential growth in Unacademy’s subscriber base is a testament to the increasing demand for quality online education and our consistent efforts,” Munjal added.
Chandigarh-based PrepLadder is also planning to launch online courses for medical workers, including nurses and neurosurgeons. The platform has an audience of 85,000 students presently as stated by company in a release. Existing investors Sequoia India, Nexus Venture Partners, Steadview Capital and Blume Ventures also participated in the round, apart from investments by Flipkart chief executive Kalyan Krishnamurthy and Udaan cofounder Sujeet Kumar in their individual capacities.
EdTech platforms have seen an immense growth in last three months owing to the lockdown imposed by government as a safety measure against coronavirus. Unacademy has recorded a 100% growth in its paid subscribers during this period. The average daily watch time across Unacademy platforms has also risen significantly, with monthly watch time minutes at an all-time high of over 1 billion.