BrightCHAMPS has acquired a live-learning platform for kids, Schola in a $15 million cash and stock deal.
About Schola
Singapore-based Schola was founded in 2019 by former Facebook executives, Aditya Gupta and Nhu Tran Le Thanh. The company offers a live, 1-on-1 class model for kids from 4 to 15 years of age to build communications, public speaking, leadership, and presentation skills, among others.
Schola’s curriculum is delivered by teachers who have TEFL or TESOL teaching certificates with native-level or equivalent English speaking proficiency. The company currently offers classes to students from Vietnam, Thailand, Korea, Japan, Malaysia, and others.
About the deal
Announcing the deal, Ravi Bhushan, Founder & CEO, BrightCHAMPS, said, “We’re thrilled to welcome Schola to the growing BrightCHAMPS family. The ability to communicate confidently, coherently, and creatively is a crucial life-skill for kids and a prerequisite for success as an adult, and we’re excited to have the exceptionally talented Team Schola lead this charge with BrightCHAMPS. Given Schola’s profitability and sustainable growth approach with low cash-burn, we already know that there is great synergy between the two companies’ operating models. I am confident that with Aditya and Nhu at the forefront, not only will Schola deepen our presence in the 30+ countries we’re already operational in, but will also help us introduce BrightCHAMPS to many other parts of the world.”
In June 2022, BrightCHAMPS announced that it has earmarked $100 million for making acquisitions across the US, UK, MENA, SEA, and India in FY23.
Schola’s mission
“Schola’s mission is to build the world’s next generation of confident, creative, and communicative kids. Far too many kids from countries and families that don’t speak English as their first language end up getting overlooked for higher education or career opportunities despite being perfectly qualified in every other way. Our goal is that lack of English proficiency should never again come in the way of a child’s dreams once they are touched by Schola. We’re excited to join hands with BrightCHAMPS, given our shared ethos and purpose. We hope that the combination of BrightCHAMPS’ brand equity and our subject-matter expertise will help Schola lead the world in the communications live-learning space. We look forward to expanding our presence beyond the 12 countries we are currently operational in the months to come,” said Aditya Gupta, Co-founder & CEO, Schola.
About BrightCHAMPS
Launched in 2020, BrightCHAMPS is currently valued at $650 million, after raising $63 million from marquee investors like GSV Ventures, BEENEXT, and Premji Invest, and Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal-backed 021 Capital. The company currently employs thousands of educators delivering 300,000 classes every month across its coding, financial literacy, and robotics verticals for kids between 6 to 16 years of age.