Bengaluru Based Edtech Platform Tekie Acquired by Uolo Technologies

Uolo Technologies has acquired Bengaluru based code-learning platform Tekie in an all stock deal. The transaction involves a cash component for Tekie’s two founders Naman Mukund and Anand Verma, in addition to the equity that will vest over a three year period and a performance linked incentive. The sum was not disclosed. Uolo, a business to-business (B2B) edtech startup backed by investors such as Blume Ventures, Omidyar Network and Winter Capital, is looking at opportunities to partner with or acquire companies in the math learning and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) learning spaces, cofounder and chief executive Pallav Pandey told ET. It was reported that Uolo raised $22.5 million in a Series A funding round led by Dubai-based growth stage investment firm Winter Capital. Morphosis Venture Capital, another Dubai-based fund, is another investor in the company.

Uolo previously raised $3 million in seed funding led by Blume Ventures in November 2020. It runs a parent teacher communication software and an enterprise

resource planning(ERP) management solution. Pandey said an estimated 120 million children attend India’s more than 400,000 private schools, and the company has onboarded 8,500 schools so far, with an aim to have around 50,000 schools on its platform by 2025. “The idea of Uolo is that we take edtech solutions to the masses in partnership with private schools. Technology in education can really do wonders but it is coming at very expensive prices. The cost of edtech solutions today is Rs.20,000-Rs.30,000 a year, but people do not have that much money to spend. It has to become more affordable and for that to happen, it has to be available through schools”, he said.

Once The Schools Are Onboarded To A Platform, They Will Need EdTech Products And Solutions

Founded by Mukund and Verma in 2017, Tekie offers schools a coding curriculum that works in over 100 schools. The startup’s investors included GSV Ventures, Multiply Ventures and Better Capital. GSV Ventures is also an investor in Lead School, which is one of the primary competitors of Uolo. “Once the schools are onboarded to a platform, they will need ed-tech products and solutions. Uolo has created a platform which 8,500 schools have boarded, and now what we’re doing is that we’re bringing on education products. Education products typically have long gestation periods. So, partnering or acquiring is a better strategy. We had partnered with Tekie earlier, and were working closely with them”, Pallav said, referring to the acquisition.