Tag: Byjus

Education

BYJU’S acquires Austrian company GeoGebra; aims to make math learning even more visual and interactive

Dec 8, 2021 by Gouri Achary 0 Comments #Anita Kishore, #Byjus, #GeoGebra, #math learning, #Michael Borcherds, #Stephen Jull

BYJU’S, a homegrown Indian Edtech Company with 115 million students on its learning platform, has announced the acquisition of Austria-headquartered GeoGebra. The Austrian company has a dynamic, interactive, and collaborative mathematics learning tool.

This acquisition complements BYJU’S overall product strategy and integrates GeoGebra’s capabilities to enable the creation of new product offerings and learning formats to its existing mathematics portfolio. It furthers BYJU’S aim to make math more engaging, leading to better learning outcomes. This synergy of two like-minded companies will bring comprehensive, personalized, and immersive learning experiences to all students.

GeoGebra will continue to operate as an independent unit within the BYJU’S group under the leadership of its Founder and Developer, Markus Hohenwarter.

Speaking on the acquisition, Anita Kishore, Chief Strategy Officer, BYJU’S, said, “The GeoGebra team has built a powerful and stimulating platform that complements BYJU’S mission of providing impactful learning for students. Designed to improve mathematical understanding, it offers significant features that provide interactive resources that adapt to every child’s style and pace of learning. At BYJU’S, with the help of innovative teaching and technology, we have been making Math fun, visual, and engaging. And with GeoGebra on board, we will continue to further enhance, reimagine and transform the way Math is taught and learned.”

“Together with our combined strengths, we will have a wider reach and the best resources to build innovative and exciting next-generation learning formats”, she added.

GeoGebra, with a rapidly expanding community of over 100 million learners across 195+ countries, brings together geometry, algebra, spreadsheets, graphing, statistics, and calculus in one easy-to-use format. Mathematical thinking is grounded in visual processing and GeoGebra’s interactive, multilingual, and stimulating learning environment makes math contextual, fun, and visual.

The platform has dynamic and connected geometry and algebra learning tools that aid in formulating and proving geometric conjectures. With an easy-to-use interface, the software can be either downloaded as an app or can be used online. The curriculum is available in multiple languages for students around the world.

“GeoGebra was born out of a passion to help students learn math in a visually appealing and engaging manner. Our shared passion for learning and teaching resonates with BYJU’S, making them a perfect partner for our onward journey. I am confident that this partnership will help millions of students learn mathematics in an interactive way, in turn making them overcome their fear of math and learn to master it,” said Markus Hohenwarter, Founder and Developer of GeoGebra.

On a mission to deliver rapid, sustainable growth at scale, Markus together with Michael Borcherds and Stephen Jull co-founded their company in 2013 to ensure GeoGebra would have solid footings from which to deliver its vision in the long term. GeoGebra includes both an enterprise and philanthropic non-profit organization. Their commercial services support more than 300 established education service companies and startups, while the non-profit supports students, teachers, researchers, and government agencies across many countries. BYJU’S welcomes the social mission of GeoGebra and acknowledges its importance for mathematics education worldwide, ensuring GeoGebra’s current apps and web services will continue to be available free of charge, putting the power of mathematics into the hands of students and teachers everywhere.

Launched in 2015, BYJU’S is the leader in offering personalized learning programs for school students in India. With over 115 million students cumulatively learning from the app, 7 million annual paid subscriptions, and an annual renewal rate of 86%, the app creates personalized learning programs for individual students based on their proficiency levels and capabilities which help them learn at their own pace and style.

Education, News

BYJU’S to acquire Aakash Educational Services Limited (AESL) through a strategic merger

Apr 6, 2021 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #AESL, #Byjus, #Co-Head of Asia Acquisitions and Head of India Private Equity at Blackstone, #Founder and CEO, #Managing Director, #Mr Aakash Chaudhry, #Mr Amit Dixit, #Mr Byju Raveendran

Hyderabad: BYJU’S, world’s leading ed-tech company today announced its strategic partnership with Aakash Educational Services Limited (AESL), a leader in test prep services.

This partnership brings together two of the largest and most-trusted education brands in India – combining Aakash’s pedagogy expertise in the test-prep segment with BYJU’S content and tech capabilities. After the integration, BYJU’S will make further investments to accelerate Aakash’s growth.

With over 33 years of experience, Aakash has built a highly effective learning ecosystem that has helped millions of young aspirants get into the country’s best institutions. In 2019, AESL partnered with Blackstone to create India’s largest digitally enabled, omni-channel test preparation company. Under the phenomenal leadership of its Founder Mr J.C. Chaudhry and Mr Aakash Chaudhry, it will continue to function independently.

Mr Byju Raveendran, Founder and CEO, BYJU’S said, “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.”

Byju further added, “The pandemic has brought the importance of the blended format of learning to the forefront. As we unite our forces to bring together decades of expertise and experience, this partnership will further accelerate Aakash’s growth and success.”

Mr Aakash Chaudhry, Managing Director, AESL said “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. While this partnership will enhance our operational verticals, Aakash will continue to operate as a separate entity with the same passion and commitment with which its Founder & Chairman Mr. J C Chaudhry incepted it. We are excited to partner with BYJU’S, and will strive to deliver long-term value to our students, employees, investors, and other stakeholders.”

The addition of Aakash is a significant step towards strengthening BYJU’S product offering. It reiterates the company’s focus on creating impactful learning products for students by adding more verticals, subjects, and languages to the same platform.

Mr Amit Dixit, Co-Head of Asia Acquisitions and Head of India Private Equity at Blackstone, said “We invested in AESL because it is one of the leading education brands in India with a professional management team, best-in-class corporate governance and a 33-year track-record of exceptional results. We have always believed omni-channel will be the winning model in test prep and tutoring, and we look forward to being a part of the partnership between the two foremost companies in Indian supplementary education – Aakash and BYJU’S. The combination of Aakash and BYJU’S is highly synergistic and we are excited to help build India’s largest education company.”

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. Known for its integrated teaching methodology and focused learning environment, Aakash has built a tradition of excellence and has helped millions of students embark on successful learning journeys.

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, and an annual renewal rate of 86%, the app creates personalized learning programs for individual students based on their proficiency levels and capabilities which help them learn at their own pace and style. In just 6 months during the lockdown, BYJU’S has added 45 million new students on its platform.

Over the years, Aakash has built and maintained the highest standards of teaching, result-oriented test preparation for some of the toughest entrance exams like JEE, NEET, NTSE etc. with its expert faculty. Unified by a shared vision to create value for the student community and boost the learning ecosystem, this integration will help accelerate and scale Aakash’s growth in the test prep industry.

EY was the exclusive financial advisor for BYJU’S on this transaction. Phoenix Advisers was the exclusive advisor for the AESL.

Education, News

AESL to associate with Byju’s

Jan 14, 2021 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #Aakash Educational Services Limited (AESL), #Byjus, #Mr JC Chaudhry & Mr Aakash Chaudhry

“Aakash Educational Services Limited (AESL) is in talks with Byju’s for building a strong partnership. The Chaudhry family and Founders, Mr JC Chaudhry & Mr Aakash Chaudhry remain committed and will continue to run Aakash Educational Services along with its management team with the same passion and commitment.

Putting these speculations to rest, we would like to state that AESL is on a mission to build India’s largest digitally-enabled, omni-channel education company. We will accelerate our digital transformation and deliver phenomenal value to our students. We will rapidly expand our omni channel & digital offerings, as we embark on the next trajectory of quality education & growth.

We remain true to our Founder’s motto of ‘Student First,’ enabling us to deliver long-term value to our students, employees, investors and other stakeholders.”

Statement by Aakash Educational Services Limited (AESL)

News, Technology

The year in a wrap: AI-driven Startups that shined bright in 2020

Dec 30, 2020 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #and Srikanth Muralidhara, #Byjus, #co-Founder, #Data Sutram, #Derick Jose, #Flutura Decision Sciences and Analytics, #Intello Labs, #Krishnan Raman, #NIRAMAI Health Analytix, #Staqu

2020 will go down in the history as a baseline for innumerable market developments. Thankfully, one of them includes a sharp uptick in digital adoption as well as tech-driven processes on a global level. This year, when the entire world stood still, they were the tech startups and their innovative use cases that kept the wheel of the market spinning. It barely comes as a surprise then that the growth trajectory of these startups and the markets that they cater to has been truly incredible.

So, let us have a look at some of these approaches and top-6 emerging AI startups of the year:

Data Sutram

As they say, data has now become the new oil and gold. What they don’t say is that both oil and gold have to be extracted and refined to realize their true value.

In a way, it is precisely what IAN backed Data Sutram does. The AI-based Location Intelligence platform offers deep insights to BFSI, Retail, and Healthcare/Pharmaceutical players. The platform delves into more than 200 attributes to help companies identify factors that positively and negatively affect their business. Its Spatial AI models the end-to-end data to re-evaluate their existing locations and identify new areas of growth. The Kolkata-based startup was founded in 2018 and has secured a funding of INR 2 crores from IAN this year. It now aims to add AgriTech and Media & Entertainment to its list of serviced segments.

These were some of the startups that saw the challenge of 2020 and turned it into their advantage with their innovative approach. It will be fascinating to see how things pan out for them and the startup segment at large in 2021. Interesting times are ahead of us!

NIRAMAI Health Analytix

The only Indian startup to be listed in CBInsights’ ‘100 Most Promising AI Startups’, Niramai Health Analytix is a FemTech startup that has addressed a critical pain point leveraging AI technology. The startup helps in a non-intrusive screening of breast cancer using a thermal sensor and an infrared camera. NIRAMAI’s solution backed by AI technology has eliminated the need for X-rays in mammography. It also aptly detects every single active and inactive tissue in even women aged above 45 years. All tissues tend to appear white in the X-rays of women aged more than 45 years (due to the presence of more fibroglandular tissues). A key takeaway of this approach is that breast cancer can be detected even before lumps can be felt using NIRAMAI’s proprietary technology.

During the pandemic, NIRAMAI was quick to use its proprietary AI solution ‘Thermalytix’ to automatically detect fever and other symptoms across workplaces. It can instantly inform the relevant stakeholders if any person is symptomatic and prevent the spread.

Intello Labs

Founded in 2016, Intello Labs automatically analyzes the quality of fresh produce and grades it using AI/ML technology. Its solution is tapped by supermarket chains, ecommerce platforms, aggregators, and agricultural players alike. The AI-driven approach directly reduces the value risk and augments revenues by increasing customer satisfaction. Intello Labs experienced a significant surge in demand this year as more businesses switched to lean and tech-driven models. In May, the Gurugram-based startup raised $5.9 million as a part of its Series A funding and has accelerated its global expansion plans, especially across the U.S. and the Asia Pacific.

Flutura Decision Sciences and Analytics

Co-founded by Krishnan Raman, Derick Jose, and Srikanth Muralidhara in 2012, Flutura is an AI startup that enhances Asset Uptime and Operational Efficiency. Its clients are spread across Oil & Gas, Production, and Heavy Machinery Manufacturing Industries. With its IIOT-based approach, the startup is actively driving the global transformation towards Industry 4.0, wherein connected infrastructure is becoming a part of across-the-board processes. The business is booming for Flutura as it has tripled its clients in the last 3 years with deployments across more than 120 manufacturing lines in 15 countries. Now, as more industries move towards operational efficiency, 2021 can prove to be a tipping point for Flutura Decision.

Staqu

Catering to Fortune 500 businesses, startups, police departments, and small retailers alike, Staqu has today established global benchmarks in the video and audio analytics domain. Given its sheer use cases, research-driven approach, and the value they add across Business Intelligence and security operations, the business has experienced solid traction during the yesteryears. The pandemic only catalyzed it. The AI-driven startup was quick to integrate several features including thermal-sensing fever identification, face mask identification, equipment sanitization, coughing identification, suspect face recognition, contact tracing, automatic tracing, and more. The startup also actively partnered with F&B players and helped them resume their operations.

Overall, there was a 1,000% growth in terms of deployment in a matter of months for business, driven primarily because of COVID-19-related features. Given its dynamic range of use cases for Business Intelligence and analytics, the growth prospects for Staqu are significant going forward.

BYJU’s

The EdTech segment was one of the key highlights of the year. It not only empowered thousands of stranded students, but also ensured that schools, educational institutes, and teachers do not lose the digital race. Perhaps, 2020 couldn’t have been any better for BYJU’s as it added another $200 million to its kitty in November after $500 million just a few months before. The fundraiser has increased BYJU’s valuation to $12 billion, thereby joining the list of Indian decacons. Last year, the EdTech startup had acquired Palo-Alto-based Osmo, which has increased the platform’s potential vis-à-vis Artificial

Education

TOI Joins Forces with BYJU’S To Launch #KeepLearning Initiative To Empower Parents, Students, and Teachers Overcome E-Learning Challenges

Nov 20, 2020 by Gouri Achary 0 Comments ##KeepLearning, #Byjus, #Dr. Arunabh Singh, #Dr. Navin Sakhuja, #Dr. Sameer Malhotra, #Mrinal Mohit, #Ramya Rajendiran, #Sanjeev Bhargava, #Sudha Natrajan, #Times of India

Times of India, India’s most widely read newspaper, in association with BYJU’S, India’s largest EdTech company announces the launch of the #KeepLearning campaign. The initiative intends to empower students, parents and educators with information and the best practices of online learning.

With a key focus towards offering innovative, engaging and informative content for young students, the campaign platform will also offer guidance via discussions and one-on-one chats for parents and educators. The campaign will further delve into various topics, pertaining to education, curated by luminaries and stalwarts from the education sector including Anubha Doshi, Founder-Director – Artsphere & Soulsphere, Dr. Arunabh Singh, Director, Nehru World School, Dr. Navin Sakhuja, MD Ophthalmology, Dr. Sameer Malhotra, Director and Head – Max Super Specialty Hospital and Ramya Rajendiran, Co-Founder, Spring days School & Fountainhead Leaders among others. Some of the key topics include New Education Policy, curriculum during COVID and beyond, Blackboard to a Digital Screen, Screen Time – how much is too much, and many more.

#KeepLearning is a holistic one-stop platform solving all the e-learning pain-points faced by teachers, parents and students in today’s time. The platform includes: –

· Content on Online Education: Almost all topics related to online learning are covered through a variety of articles, listicles and videos on the website

· Discussion with Subject Matter Experts: There will be a series of Webinars and Panel Discussions with subject matter experts on various topics throughout the 2 months duration of the initiative

· One-on-One Connect with Experts: Registered users will also be able to connect one on one with key experts from multiple domains like Education System, Lifestyle Coaching, Child Psychology, Ophthalmology, Career Counselling etc. to answer their questions/queries

· Discussion Forums: Registered users will also be able to participate in discussion forums on various topics and get perspective of top experts and other participants

The campaign is also engaging with prominent celebrities and experts. The list includes known influencers like Rajiv Makhani, Anaita Shroff, Katerina Folkman, Momcom India and many others.

Speaking about the campaign and platform, Sanjeev Bhargava, Director – Brand, TOI said, “The pandemic has brought about several drastic changes in the way we live our lives. One of the sectors that have seen a sizeable change in the education sector, which has swiftly transitioned and adopted a digital approach. As a media platform, we have consistently been drivers of effective change in society, building and supporting movements; with this legacy, we bring an endeavour to empower parents and educators while providing them with the best guidance and knowledge in association with Byju’s. Bridging the gap between the knowledge of how to leverage the various digital learning tools that have been developed for us, #KeepLearning will help children, parents and educators alike.”

Sudha Natrajan, Director -Response, TOI has also shared a similar take on the initiative. Quoting her, “Covid-19’s prevailing impact has forced people to live life indoors. The education sector has also moved from blackboards to digital screens, affecting the life of the students and forcing them to adapt to the digital way of learning. With TOI’s and Byju’s – #KeepLearning initiative, we aim to edify the parents and educators about how they can adapt to these changes and also help students adapt to the changing times for a better future. By using different approaches and digital tools we intend to create a bridge between the parents and teachers to drive them towards a better future for the students.”

Adding to the above, Mrinal Mohit, Chief Operating Officer, BYJU’S said, “Learning and education are an important part of our lives. With the advancement of technologies and the availability of several tools, it is necessary to expand the scope of learning at every stage and educate ourselves on how we can harness the presented opportunity.

With the #KeepLearning campaign, in association with TOI, BYJU’S hopes to enlighten students, parents and educators about the ‘how-to’ of e-learning and bring about a change in the education sector.”

Launched today, the campaign will garner a national presence via the media house’s extensive reach, further amplified digitally as well as with social media. Parents and children can visit the campaign microsite https://timeskeeplearning.com/ for a deep-dive into the world of e-learning.

Business World

Sportz Village brings Experiential Sports Marketing to the centre stage with ‘PHYGITAL’

Aug 5, 2020 by Gouri Achary 0 Comments #‘Unlocking Sports for Kids - Configuring the New Normal for Consumer Engagement’, #a roundtable discussion, #Byjus, #Dabur & Nazara Technologies, #leading sports marketing firms in India, #Sportz Village Xp and Intin, #volving consumer preferences and needs

Sportz Village Xp and Intin recently organized a roundtable discussion with prominent CEO/CMOs to discuss the evolving consumer preferences and needs, market response owing to the pandemic and new avenues for engaging with kids through sports. The expert study paper titled ‘Unlocking Sports for Kids – Configuring the New Normal for Consumer Engagement’ summarizes the main conclusions of the roundtable and the way forward.

The Covid-19 pandemic has severely restricted human life, bringing ‘safety’ at the helm of everything. With every outdoor activity being halted for an undefined period, health and fitness, especially for kids, faces a challenge. Sportz Village XP, one of the leading sports marketing firms in India, took an initiative to unlock sports for kids taking into consideration every direct and indirect stakeholder associated with it, i.e. parents, sports platforms and brands.

The roundtable consisting of the top brass at Sportz Village, Byjus, Dabur & Nazara Technologies discussed the challenges in engaging with kids during COVID-19 as well as the shift in consumer behaviour. As marketers are reassessing whether they can deliver responsible consumer engagement programs through sports, Sportz Village Xp brings forth quality insights into the foreseeable future through ‘Phygital’ solutions to keep kids active and playing. 

“COVID or no COVID, kids are born to play – for Health, Immunity & Happiness. Brands can now consider ‘Home as the New Playground’ to continue to engage with kids and parents in a positive manner. The Phygital solutions outlined in the paper combine the best of Digital and Physical to really add value to the child and parent’s life, thereby helping brands build a lasting, on-going and positive relationship with their consumers – especially in these times of stress and anxiety,” said Saumil Majmudar, CEO, Sportz Village on the importance of finding a solution to rebuild. 

The paper also highlights COVID Impact Survey findings of parent’s response to a lack of physical activities. As high as 84% of the parents said that they were not happy with the increased 5-hour screen time on an average. Glaring concerns for loss of physical growth along with risks of psychological impact were pointed out by parents.  

Atit Mehta, head of marketing, Byju’s, said, “Every phase of the lockdown is a bigger blow to the kids than the previous one, the challenges to engage the kids in the process of learning keep increasing as the time increases.” 

The outcome of the roundtable was illuminating to carve the way for parents and brands alike to keep kids physically engaged during COVID. The application of ‘Phygital’ to build unique solutions to engage with kids at home in a safe, active and scalable manner is the need of the hour. Sportz Village Xp has yet again proven the expertise with smooth sailing of Active Club and Play At Home programme.

Part II of the expert study to be released in September 2020 will present consumer engagement solutions for the post-COVID world, keeping the focus on safety and immunity to build new avenues for physical activity.

As the curtains rise to a certain new normal, brands and marketers have an exciting opportunity to offer exhilarating and refreshing experiences to consumers, albeit in a safe and drastically new manner.

The Expert Study Paper can be downloaded here: https://sportzvillagexp.com/expert-study-paper-on-unlocking-sports-for-kids/