Bengaluru, India–based BYJU’S, the global ed-tech firm delivering personalized online learning to more than 100 million students worldwide, has acquired the leading kids’ digital reading platform Epic for $500 million. BYJU’S is backed by a string of notable investment groups.
Launched in 2014 in Redwood City, Calif., Epic will continue to be run by CEO Suren Markosian and co-founder Kevin Donahue. Epic's digital reading platform features a collection of more than 40,000 popular, high-quality books, audiobooks, and videos from more than 250 publishers.
The acquisition of Epic—and its user base of more than two million teachers and 50 million students—will allow BYJU’S to significantly expand its U.S. footprint, and the new arrangement brings together companies with like-minded goals of creating valuable learning experiences for kids. BYJU recently launched its BYJU’S Learning App focused on digital and hands-on activities for children in preK to third grade (and featuring Disney and Pixar characters), and its BYJU’S Future School program of 1:1 math and coding classes for students in grades one to eight in the U.S. BYJU’S said it plans to invest $1 billion in North America as part of its expansion plans.
In a statement announcing the deal, Byju Raveendran, founder and CEO of BYJU’S, said, “Our partnership with Epic will enable us to create engaging and interactive reading and learning experiences for children globally. Our mission is to fuel curiosity and make students fall in love with learning. Knowing that Epic and its products are rooted in the same mission, it was a natural fit.”
Markosian added, “We created Epic to make quality books more accessible to kids everywhere, and to build a safe place for them to discover the joy and magic of reading in their own way. The alignment of our missions and shared passion makes BYJU’S the perfect partner, as we’re confident this acquisition will ignite excitement for learning around the world.”
