Engineering-focused edtech startup Skill-Lync has acquired Crio, an experiential learning platform for tech careers for an undisclosed sum, the company announced on Monday.
The deal is expected to enhance its offerings in the higher education space at a time when competition intensifies in the segment amid a downturn in online learning. Skill-Lync said, with this acquisition, Crio will operate as an independent brand under the Skill-Lync Group.
Skill-Lync stated that the founders of Crio will continue to focus on and run Crio’s business and growth, after the acquisition.
Crio.Do, founded by former Flipkart and Google employees, offers experiential learning programs for professionals and students. The startup is backed by Binny Bansal and other former Flipkart employees
Skill-Lync was founded in 2018 by Sarangarajan V Iyengar and Sarangarajan V, it focuses on providing industry-relevant and job-leading courses for Engineering students and graduates across all disciplines. Currently, the company said it helps over 30,000 students from all parts of India with such courses.
“Both Crio and Skill-Lync, were started because we wanted to solve a fundamental issue in higher education, i.e. making the engineers industry relevant. Crio focussed on Computer Sciences and Skill-Lync focussed on Mechanical, Electrical, Electronics and Civil Engineering. Today, as both companies come together, we believe that we have a unique opportunity to build one of the best higher education platforms where we can provide value at scale,” said SuryaNarayanan PaneerSelvam, co-founder, Skill-Lync.
In August last year, Skill-Lync raised $17.5 million in its Series A funding round led by Iron Pillar, with existing investors including Y Combinator, Better Capital, Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal, Sai Krishnamurthy (Xto10X), and Rashmi Kwatra (Sixteenth Street Capital), also participating in the funding.
In similar deals, edtech company Vedantu, acquired a majority stake in test preparation platform Deeksha for $40 million. Deeksha, operated by Ace Creative Learning Pvt. Ltd, focuses on board and competitive exam coaching for students of grades XI and XII. The investment is in-line with Vedantu’s offline play to create a hybrid model.
