Scaler Academy buys Coding Elements to boost upskilling offerings

Edtech platform Scaler Academy said that it has acquired Delhi-based Coding Elements in an all-cash deal worth $1 million (approx 8 crore).

The Bengaluru headquartered startup said it has set aside $8 million (Rs 50 crore) to explore M&A deals.

This is the first acquisition by the firm to accelerate its business growth.    

With the acquisition of Coding Elements, Scaler aims to expand its offerings in the professional upskilling space.

As part of the deal, Coding Elements founder Mudit Goel will join Scaler as Strategy and Product Lead.

Started in 2017, Coding Elements offers courses in data science, machine learning and full-stack web as well as mobile app development.

The platform also offers coding courses for kids to assess live class format and opportunities in international markets.    

“This acquisition will enable us to further strengthen our upskilling platform by expanding our course offerings beyond core software engineering. As we are journeying to the next growth phase,

I'm confident that Coding Element's resources, talent pool and Mudit's rich experience as an entrepreneur and his deep understanding of the upskilling segment will help us in expanding our offerings and reach,” Abhimanyu Saxena, co-founder of Scaler, said in a statement.    
In January 2020, Sequoia India and the US-based Tiger Global Management led $20 million (Rs 142.58 crore) Series A round in Scaler's parent entity Interviewbit.  

Edtech sector is being seen consolidating with major M&A activities; Byju’s has remained aggressive with its inorganic growth run, it acquired Epic, a Redwood City, California-based digital reading platform for children for $500 million (Rs 3,730 crore).

The firm also earmarked investments up to $1 billion for expansion in the North American market.    

A month ago, Byjus shelled out $750 million to buy Mumbai-based Toppr and Singapore-based Great Learning.    

Upgrad acquired US-based KnowledgeHut earlier this month to expand globally. UpGrad has set aside $250 million for mergers and acquisitions in July.