India’s edtech decacorn Byju’s has acquired LabInApp, an edtech startup that offers lab-like virtual simulations for science students on a mobile app.
While the amount was not disclosed, according to certain media reports, citing people familiar with the matter, the deal size was pegged at $500,000. Meanwhile, the latest acquisition comes just over a month after the company acquired Mumbai-based coding startup WhiteHat Jr for $300 million in an all-cash transaction.
Founded in 2015 by Pavan Shinde, Girish Shirigannavar, Pramod Ramdurg, and Vinayak Hulabutti, LabInApp offers science lab-like simulation on mobile devices, curating interactive and immersive learning experiences for both students and teachers. These simulations cover concepts across Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Mathematics, and are supported across all major platforms including Windows, Android, and Web.
In addition, the content is designed as per the NCERT guidelines and supports all major curriculums from grades 6 to 12. Currently, LabInApp offers around 550 simulations with more in various stages of development.
Speaking about the company and on the acquisition, Pavan Shinde, Co-founder and CEO, LabInApp, said,
“Technology has become the core to most human essentials, with edtech topping the chart, especially in the pandemic world. While schools have their set of challenges, students shouldn’t miss out on experiential learning. Keeping this in mind, we have created a virtual learning and teaching environment representing science laboratories where teachers can teach practical concepts to students. To further scale LabInApp’s products and potential, there is no better education platform than Byju’s, which has a large number of K-12 students actively using their services.”
It is said that about 75% of schools in India lack fully equipped science laboratories because of lack of infrastructure and budget to support and maintain labs. LabInApp addresses this problem through digital labs which are enabled by virtual simulation of lab equipment and experiments without requiring an expensive laboratory set up. The Hubli, Karnataka-based startup claimed its solution has over 5000 schools onboard across India.
Commenting on the acquisition, Will Poole, Managing Partner, Unitus Ventures, which is one of early investors in LabInApp, said,
“Acquisition of LabInApp by Byju’s during the course of a global pandemic exemplifies the growth story of innovative edtech solutions. Unitus remains steadfast in mentoring early-stage startups applying advanced technology to meet the needs of India’s lower-income populations and supporting them to scale newer heights.”
With Byju’s acquisition, Unitus Ventures will be exiting the company completely.
With the latest acquisition, Byju’s, which is currently valued at $10.8 billion , has already acquired half a dozen edtech platforms. The company had last acquired WhiteHat Jr in August 2020, and before that, it acquired Osmo (2019), Math Adventures (2018), TutorVista and Vidyarth (2017). Byju’s is also reportedly in talks to acquire Doubtnut, a Gurugram-based interactive doubt solving platform, for $150 million.
