Reliance Industries Ltd has entered into an agreement to acquire 72.7 per cent stake in education technology provider Indiavidual Learning to strengthen RJio’s content offerings.
RIL will invest $180 million in the company, which operates online education platform Embibe, over the next three years. “The transaction is expected to be completed in two months, subject to completion of customary regulatory compliances and other conditions precedent,” the company said in a filing on the BSE.
Started in 2012 by Aditi Avasthi, Embibe operates an Artificial Intelligence-based education platform that delivers personalised learning outcomes to students. Students can improve test scores by the using the AI platform to spot mistakes. Embibe also helps students increase their scores in a test by letting them know questions that are easier and then moving on to the tougher ones.
Embibe CEO Avasthi will continue in her leadership role and will drive the growth of the business, the statement said.
“The investment in Embibe underlines Reliance’s commitment to growing the education sector in India and the world and making education accessible to the widest possible group of students by deploying technology,” Reliance Jio Director Akash Ambani said.
Embibe has on-boarded 60 educational institutions to its platform and will use the proceeds towards deepening its research and development on AI in education. It will also use the money for business growth and geographic expansion.
Expansion plan
Reliance aims to connect over 1.9 million schools and 58,000 universities across India with technology. “We believe that their highly experienced management team will be instrumental in enabling Reliance to realise its vision for the education sector, and strengthening RJio’s leadership position as a digital technology company,” Ambani added.
Reliance is creating a business model aimed at using digital technology across multiple areas including education, healthcare, entertainment and information. Recently, RIL had signed agreements for combining JioMusic with online music streaming platform Saavn to create an entity valued at over a billion dollars. The shareholder base of Saavn includes Tiger Global Management, Liberty Media, and Bertelsmann among others.