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Scaler, an edtech upskilling startup backed by Sequoia Capital and Tiger Global, has announced the acquisition of Delhi-based online learning platform Coding Elements in an all-cash deal. This marks the edtech startup’s first acquisition to accelerate business growth. 

Scaler has also set aside a sizeable fund of Rs 50 crore to explore other avenues of M&As.

Coding Elements was started in 2017 by Mudit Goel with a vision to create the next generation of coders by training them with latest in-demand tech skills such as Data Science, Machine Learning, and Full-Stack Web and Mobile App development. The platform also offered coding courses for kids to access live class format and opportunities in international markets.

Within two years, the Coding Elements team worked with over 4000 students through in-person classroom courses before going entirely online in 2020. NITI Aayog also handpicked the platform to teach coding to 2 million students across 6,000 schools under Atal Innovation Mission. 

With the acquisition of Coding Elements, Scaler aims to bring synergies between the two companies to strengthen further and expand its offering in the professional upskilling space. As a strategic move, Coding Elements has been merged with Scaler, and Mudit Goel has joined the startup as the Strategy and Product Lead. In his role, Mudit will build the Data Science and Machine Learning vertical, a high-growth segment, and will also play a key role in deepening Scaler’s relationship with industry partners. 

Abhimanyu Saxena, Co-founder, Scaler and InterviewBit, said, 

“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. The acquisition is another step towards accelerating our growth and making Scaler a world-class virtual tech university. Further, we continue to assess and evaluate potential M&A opportunities in the segment that matches Scaler’s vision and mission”. 

Mudit Goel, Founder, Coding Elements, added, 

“Coding Elements was started in 2017 with just three students in the first batch as an experiment to understand how high-quality education can help improve the lives of families. Within four years, we reached two million students across 6000 schools and saw how education can uplift an entire economy. I’m happy to have joined hands with Scaler, which is also on the same mission and am excited to be a part of one of the most dynamic teams in the edtech sector. This strategic merger with Scaler is truly a satisfying moment as it makes our journey bigger and better.”

Scaler (by InterviewBit) was launched in 2019 as an exclusive upskilling platform for tech enthusiasts. As a testament to its growth, Scaler raised $20 million in Series A funding led by investors like Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global and Rocket Internet, among others, in January 2020. The startup also recently made five key leadership appointments to accelerate the business growth and introduced Data Science and Machine Learning programs to expand its offerings. Today, Scaler has over 500 employees and 1000+ mentors /teaching assistants on the platform working towards bridging the tech talent gap in India. 

According to the RedSeer and Omidyar Network India report, India’s edtech market will touch $3.5 billion by 2022.

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