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Kul Bhushan · · 5 min readIndian edtech firm earmarks $100m for acquisitions, eyes SEA
BrightChamps, an India-based edtech firm, said it will spend US$100 million to acquire companies across the US, the UK, India, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in the fiscal year ending March 2023.
BrightChamps founder and CEO Ravi Bhushan / Photo credit: BrightChamps
BrightChamps was founded in 2020 by Ravi Bhushan, an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology Varanasi. The company caters to the K-12 segment with a curriculum that includes coding and advanced tech, which encompasses subjects such as AI, machine learning, virtual reality, and robotics.
BrightChamps provides services in more than 30 countries, including Canada, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Nigeria. In November 2021, BrightChamps raised US$63 million in a funding round that valued the firm at US$500 million. Premji Invest, GSV Ventures, Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal, and Beenext were among the investors that participated in the round.
Earlier this year, BrightChamps acquired financial education-focused firm Education10x – this was also the company’s first acquisition since its inception. The US$100 million war chest for acquisitions, however, is a fresh allocation for mergers and acquisitions, Bhushan told Tech in Asia.
The foray into SEA
Bhushan underlines that the edtech firm is also focusing on Southeast Asia, which brings in nearly 50% to the company’s total revenue. Indonesia accounts for nearly 30% of its revenues.
Besides Indonesia, the other Southeast Asian markets it focuses on are Vietnam and the Philippines.
“We may announce a strong acquisition in the Southeast Asia market soon. The company will be based in the region,” he adds.
Indonesia’s edtech market was at over US$200 million in 2020, according to a RedSeer report. Each of Vietnam’s and the Philippines’ e-education markets are poised to hit US$3 billion by 2023.
Indonesian children learning about the internet / Photo credit: Shutterstock.com
The BrightChamps founder said the company was also looking to address the gap created by the crackdown on the edtech firms in China.
The efforts will include providing customized edtech solutions for local markets. For instance, parents in Vietnam are willing to pay for high-quality education comparable to that available in Singapore or the US, he explains.
“I am very bullish both from a supply and demand perspective for Southeast Asia,” he said.
Buying the dip
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BrightChamps’ co-founder says the market is fertile for those looking to acquire companies at relatively lower prices.
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