NeoStencil India Pvt. Ltd, which runs an online IAS coaching platform, has acquired analytics-based testing portal TestCafe, said a press statement.
Noida-based TestCafe, which caters to those preparing for MBA entrances, tracks and analyses students’ performance and generates actionable recommendations. The company was founded in 2016 by Anish Passi, an IIM Ahmedabad alumnus. Passi has previously worked at Capillary Technologies and Merrill Lynch.
TestCafe’s analytics engine will help NeoStencil handle students’ testing needs, the statement added.
The deal value was not disclosed.
New Delhi-based NeoStencil was founded in December 2014 by brothers Love and Kush Beejal. Love, an alumnus of AIIMS and IIM Ahmedabad, had worked as an investment banker on Wall Street and was chief executive of a healthcare company in San Francisco. Kush, an IIT Bombay and IIM Calcutta alumnus, has eight years of experience across startups and larger organisations.
“TestCafe’s analytics-based testing... is the perfect complement to our online coaching platform. Combining the two will help our students prepare better, and make their preparation outcome-driven,†said Kush Beejal.
NeoStencil provides live as well as recorded classes, test series and study material for civil services exams. It also features discussion forums and counselling facility for students. The company claims to have over half a million students, of which 60% come from Tier II and Tier III cities.
Earlier this year, NeoStencil raised $1 million in a funding round led by Times Group’s ad-for-equity investment arm Brand Capital and California-based Paragon Trust. 91Springboard, M&S Partners Pvt. Ltd founder Hirokazu Mashita and Jabong co-founder Praveen Sinha also took part in the round.
According to a report by research and advisory firm RedSeer Consulting, India's online education market is about $2.5 billion, and is poised to grow at 15% over the next three years.
