Infinity Learn, a Bengaluru-based ed-tech startup, has invested $7.5 million to acquire a 75% stake in cognitive development edtech firm WizKlub.
WizKlub is worth $10 million, and Infinity Learn CEO Ujjawal Singh told ET that the company plans to acquire the remaining stake in three years.
With the acquisition, Infinity Learn, which is backed by the Sri Chaitanya Group, has expanded into a new vertical, Infinity Futurz, which provides skills for success beyond the classroom.
Infinity Futurz intends to expand its existing portfolio of Infinity Learn offerings for the Kindergarten to 12th standard (K12) segment in the future by instilling foundational skills that a student will need to succeed in a career of their choice.
Infinity Learn, founded in 2021 by Sushma Boppana, Seema Boppana, and Sridhar Yalamanchili, caters to students in Grades 11-12 and prepares them for exams such as the National Eligibility Cumulative Entrance Test (NEET) and Joint Entrance Examination through live classes, mock tests, previous year question papers, and test series.
Infinity Learn’s third acquisition is WizKlub.
Infinity Learn acquired Teacherr, a digital platform for the teaching community, and Don’t Memorise, a concept-based multilingual content platform, in October 2021.
WizKlub’s Hots (Higher Order Thinking Skills) and Smarttech programs provide skill training for school-aged children aged 6 to 14.
“With this new venture, we will offer co-curricular courses such as coding, higher-order thinking skills (HOTs), and robotics… We will also begin English language training in the near future. This bodes well for Infinity Learn, according to Singh.
The startup intends to mentor learners in analytical thinking, complex problem solving, critical thinking, innovation, active learning, and the ability to use technology to solve problems through the WizKlub acquisition. With the acquisition, the startup will expand to tier II and tier III cities.
“In addition to tier II and tier III cities, the WizKlub acquisition will help us enter international markets such as Southeast Asia and the Middle East,” Singh explained.
Over the next 24 months, Infinity Learn anticipates over one million early-year students joining Infinity Futurz for a multi-year journey. The company will also consider expanding the WizKub offering to other countries.
Infinity Learn is also considering a hybrid teaching model.
“We have always believed that hybrid models are the future, and we will announce approximately 100 offline centers by June 2023, on top of our existing offerings to physical schools,” Singh told ET.
Top edtech companies are currently expanding into the offline education market. Vedantu, an education technology company, has been experimenting with hybrid models.
Unicorn in education technology With the lifting of pandemic-related restrictions, Unacademy is expanding into offline learning with the launch of Unacademy Centres.
On February 17, ed-tech unicorn Byju’s announced aggressive plans to expand its offline presence with the launch of ‘Byju’s Tuition Centre.’
Last year, the company announced the opening of 80 offline centers in 23 cities, with plans to expand to 500 centers in 200 cities this year. It had also set aside $200 million to expand its offline learning strategy.
