Edtech M&A Wave Continues: Toprankers Acquires Chinar Law Institute

Edtech startup Toprankers has acquired Gurugram-based test preparation platform Chinar Law Institute (CLI) for an undisclosed amount. 

The deal, executed by Toprankers-owned Judiciary Gold, will enable the edtech platform to shore up its expertise in the law coaching domain and bolster its offerings for judicial aspirants. The acquisition will help Toprankers leverage synergies and acquire CLI’s faculty to scale up  operations.

CLI will now operate under the brand name Judiciary Gold by Toprankers.

“This acquisition offers a wealth of opportunities. Our mutual dedication to excellence, coupled with the exceptional facilities, will enable aspiring legal minds to benefit from an immersive learning environment that goes beyond mere education,” said Sparsh Jain, CLI founder and the new centre and academics head at Judiciary Gold for Delhi and Gurugram regions.

Under the acquisition, the company also said that it has inaugurated three new coaching centres across Gurugram and Delhi to cater exclusively to law aspirants. The edtech major also plans to ‘soon’ expand its presence to Lucknow and Jaipur. 

Commenting on this, Toprankers cofounder and chief executive officer (CEO) Gaurav Goel said, “Our expansion in Delhi & Gurugram regions represents our commitment to providing exceptional facilities and support to students as they navigate the complexities of legal education. We firmly believe that integrating state-of-the-art infrastructure with our outstanding education delivery will play a crucial role in shaping the future of legal education in India.”

Founded by Sparsh Jain, CLI coaches and mentors law students, and offers both online and offline courses for judicial services.

Toprankers was founded in 2015 by Goel, Karan Mehta and Harsh Gagrani. It operates an edtech platform that offers test prep courses for aspirants preparing for management, CUET, law, design and architecture exams. 

This is the third acquisition by Toprankers in 2023. In July, it acquired Indore-based The Lex Guru for an undisclosed amount to expand its reach in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and other neighbouring regions. In April, it also acquired career guidance platform ProBano to leverage its expertise in offering career guidance services to high school students aged between 13 and 18.

In the edtech space, Allen Career Institute, last week, acquired AI-led doubts solving platform Doubtnut in a fire sale. 

The series of acquisitions come at a time when the edtech industry has been mired in a slew of controversies and has been hammered by funding crunch. This has resulted in edtech startups streamlining operations, cutting corners and laying off employees in droves. As per Inc42 data, 24 edtech startups, including six unicorns, have fired more than 14,000 employees in the past two years.