April 6 2021: Leading  India-led ed-tech company Byju’s  is to acquire another well known Indian brand , leader in entrance exam coaching, Aakash Educational Services ,  in a deal that the media this morning estimates is worth  $ 950 million.
This partnership  combinesAakash’s pedagogy expertise in the test-prep segment with BYJU’S content and tech capabilities. Aakash will cotinue to operate as a separate brand.
In 2019, AESL founded by  JC Chaudhry and Aakash Chaudhry, partnered with Blackstone to create India’s largest digitally enabled, omni-channel test preparation company. Under the phenomenal leadership of Founder, it will continue to function independently. With over 215+ centres, Aakash provides test preparatory services to students preparing for medical and engineering entrance exams, school/board exams, KVPY, NTSE, Olympiads, and other Foundation level exams. The acquisition will provide Byju's class 10-12 students a smooth passage to take entrance exams without leaving the company.
Says Byju Raveendran, Founder, and CEO, Byju’s: “I am happy to have Aakash Educational Services Limited (AESL), a market leader and the most trusted name in the test prep services, on board with us. Our complementary strengths will enable us to build capabilities, create engaging and personalised learning programs. The future of learning is hybrid and this union will bring together the best of offline and online learning, as we combine our expertise to create impactful experiences for students.”
Adds Aakash Chaudhry, Managing Director, AESL: “At Aakash, we are looking to transform student experiences by steering innovative and digitally-enabled learning solutions. Together with Byju’s , we will work towards building an omni-channel learning offering that will accelerate test-prep experience to the next level.”
Launched in 2015, Byju’s  is the leader in offering personalised learning programs for school students in India, with over 80 million students cumulatively learning from the app, 5.5 million annual paid subscriptions.  In just 6 months during the lockdown,  BYJU’S has added  45 million new students on its platform. Last year, Byju's bought up another Indian edutech company, Whitehat Jr for $ 300 million.