Edtech Giant BYJU’s Acquires Austria-based Math Learning Startup GeoGebra

Indian edtech decacorn BYJU’s has acquired Austria-headquartered mathematics learning tools startup GeoGebra.

GeoGebra was created by Markus Hohenwwarter in 2001 as part of his master’s thesis while studying mathematics and computer science at the University of Salzburg in Austria. With the support of a DOC scholarship from the Austrian Academy of Sciences, he was able to continue developing the software as part of his PhD project in mathematics education.

GeoGebra has a community of over 100 Mn learners across more than 195 countries and brings together geometry, algebra, spreadsheets, graphing, statistics and calculus on one easy-to-use platform. GeoGebra’s interactive multilingual learning environment is designed to make learning math a contextual, fun and visual experience. 

“GeoGebra was born out of a passion for helping students learn math in a visually appealing and engaging manner. Our shared passion for learning and teaching resonates with BYJU’S, making them a perfect partner for our onward journey. I am confident that this partnership will help millions of students learn mathematics in an interactive way, in turn making them overcome their fear of math and learn to master it,” said Markus Hohenwarter, founder and developer of GeoGebra. 

Markus co-founded GeoGebra as a company along with Michael Borcherds and Stephen Jull in 2013. Currently, the startup acts as both an enterprise and a non-profit organisation that offers free learning tools on its platform.

According to GeoGebra, its commercial services support more than 300 education service companies and startups, while the non-profit wing supports students, teachers, researchers and government agencies across many countries. 

Last month, BYJU’s increased the size of its ongoing Series F funding round to INR 2,700 Cr ($363 Mn) a $21 Bn valuation. With the GeoGebra acquisition, Byju’s marked its tenth acquisition, including: 

• Sept: Acquired US-based coding startup Tynker for $200 Mn
• Sept: Acquired exam-preparing platform GradeUp
• August: Acquired AR-startup Whodat 
• July: In a bid to strengthen its offerings in the professional and higher education segment, BYJU’s acquired Great Learning for $600 Mn
• July: Acquired US-based digital reading platform Epic Games for $500 Mn
• July: Acquired Mumbai-based Toppr for around $150 Mn
• May: Acquired on-demand tutoring app HashLearn for an undisclosed amount
• April: Acquired Aakash Educational Services for close to $1 Bn
• Feb: Acquired doubt solving platform Scholr for an undisclosed amount.

BYJU’s or Raveendran-led learning platform has also started a hybrid pilot project in Indian cities where students can visit physical/offline education centres for class, complemented by digital learning tools. 

According to an Inc42 Plus report, India’s edtech market opportunity is poised to grow from $2.8 Bn in 2020 to $10.4 Bn in 2025, at a CAGR of 39%. The Indian edtech market will witness a 3.7x growth in the next five years, with K-12 learning solutions set to account for 41% of the total market in 2025. K-12 learning solutions could have as many as 11.3 Mn paid users by then. 

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