YC-backed edtech startup Skill-Lync acquires online learning platform Crio
- ByStartupStory | November 21, 2022
On November 21, engineering-focused edtech startup Skill-Lync announced that it has acquired Crio, an experiential learning platform for tech vocations, in an effort to improve its offerings in the higher education market as competition in the sector heats up due to a decline in online learning. With this acquisition, according to Skill-Lync, Crio will function as a separate brand inside the Skill-Lync Group.
The founders of Crio will continue to manage and focus on the company’s operations and growth following the acquisition, according to a statement from Skill-Lync. The size of the deal was not, however, disclosed by the company. The 2018-founded edtech business Skill-Lync was founded by Surya Narayanan PaneerSelvam and Sarangarajan V Iyengar with the goal of offering engineering students and recent graduates across all disciplines courses that are both industry-relevant and job-leading. The business said that it currently provides similar courses to over 30,000 students from all throughout India.
“Both Crio and Skill-Lync were founded in order to address a basic problem in higher education, namely the need to make the engineering industry relevant. As the two businesses combine, we think we have a rare chance to create one of the best higher education platforms where we can deliver value at scale, according to Paneer Selvam.
Funding for Skill-Lync has reached $20 million in total. In addition to the support of Y Combinator and Better Capital, Binny Bansal of Flipkart also contributed to the startup’s most recent funding round. With this transaction, the companies said that they will work together to provide over 25,000 students with appropriate career prospects over the course of the following two to three years. Rathinamurthy R, the co-founder of Crio, stated, “We are incredibly delighted to become part of the Skill-Lync Group which shares a similar vision and approach to learning, looking forward to increasing the effect together.” Rathinamurthy R and Sridher Jeyachandran founded Crio in 2018, a platform for hands-on learning for tech vocations. Working on actual projects enables students and professionals to gain practical skills. Additionally, Binny Bansal and other former workers of Flipkart are supporting the firm. This occurs as demand for online K-12 (kindergarten to class 12) education is declining due to the reopening of schools, colleges, and tuition centres, while competitors in the upskilling and higher edtech space, such as Ronnie Screwvala’s upGrad, SoftBank-backed Eruditus, Tiger Global-backed Scaler, and Krishna Kumar’s Simplilearn, are experiencing strong growth.
In July, Mayank Kumar, managing director and co-founder of upGrad, stated that the higher education and upskilling sectors were counter-cyclical, meaning that students tended to upskill during periods of job losses and recessionary anxieties. Companies like upGrad, Scaler Academy, Eruditus, and Masai School appear to have been less impacted by this delay, proving that Kumar may have a point.
According to Damera, who spoke to the media in June, Eruditus anticipates its booking revenue for FY23 (2022-23) to double year over year. Additionally, Kumar of upGrad stated that he anticipates upGrad’s revenue to increase by 100% in FY22 (2021–2022) and FY23.
For 2022, Eruditus had set aside $1 billion for mergers and acquisitions. Additionally, the business obtained $350 million in loan funding from the CPPIB for foreign acquisitions (Canada Pension Plan Investment Board).
Additionally, upGrad has been on an acquisition binge. Since the beginning of 2022, the organisation has bought more than 13 different businesses. After receiving $210 million in one of the biggest investment rounds by Indian edtech companies in 2022, its valuation also doubled.
Tiger Global-sponsored Additionally, Scaler informed Moneycontrol that it will set aside $50 million for mergers and acquisitions in the upcoming fiscal year (FY23). Co-founder of Scaler Abhimanyu Saxena responded via email, stating that as of August 2022, the company’s annual revenue run rate (ARR) exceeded $110 million. Additionally, the business stated that it would be hiring 600 people this year.
The Masai School, which is supported by Kunal Shah, said that it would extend its current categories and introduce more courses. A $10 million Series B fundraising round headed by Omidyar Network India recently saw the addition of footballer Bhaichung Bhutia and cricketer Mithali Raj as strategic investors in Masai School. More recently, the private equity-backed Simplilearn platform for higher education also raised $45 million in a fresh funding round led by GSV Ventures at an undisclosed valuation. Simplilearn is supported by Blackstone.
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