Info Edge to buy 25% stake in e-learning platform Coding Ninjas

E-learning platform Coding Ninjas, owned by Delhi-based Sunrise Mentors, is raising Rs 37.1 crore (about $5.21 million at prevailing foreign exchange rates) from Sanjeev Bikhchandani-led internet company Info Edge. 

Info Edge will acquire a 25% stake in Sunrise Mentors in lieu of the investment.

The investment involves a mix of primary and secondary purchase of shares in Sunrise Mentors, according to a stock exchange filing.

“The investment would help the company (Info Edge) to expand its presence in the online upskilling and reskilling education content business, which has long term synergies with the recruitment and education business of the company (Info Edge),” the Naukri.com parent said in the filing.

Founded in 2016, Coding Ninjas offers online and offline courses in machine learning, interview preparation and advanced software programming with data structures among others. It recently launched a new programme called CodingNinjas Career Camp, which bills users after they land a job, instead of charging them upfront. 

In the financial year 2018-19, Sunrise Mentors posted net sales of Rs 5.57 crore, up by 1.4 times a year earlier. Profit after tax declined about 21% to Rs 16.84 lakh, according to the company’s filings with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

Info Edge makes direct investments in startups and lately via Info Edge Venture Fund (IEVF), a venture capital fund it launched this year. Last week, IEVF acquired a 7.48% stake in DotPe, the parent operator of Dot, an offline-to-online commerce and fintech platform. In the same week, it also acquired a 5.36% stake in Qyuki Digital Media, a digital entertainment content provider founded by musician AR Rahman and filmmaker Shekhar Kapur.

IEVF I currently invests from a corpus of about $14 million. It expects to deploy about $112 million over the next three years.

Noida-headquartered Info Edge is known for its investments in food delivery startup Zomato and financial services provider Policybazaar. It has investments in real estate portal 99acres, matrimony platform Jeevansathi and edtech platform Shiksha. Its more recent investments include logistics platform Shipsy, test preparatory platform Career Power, legal services platform Legitquest.

The article has been amended from the original, which incorrectly stated that the Coding Ninjas investment was made by IEVF.