FinX Acquires BSE Institute To Expand Into AI Training

SUMMARY

FinX said that the acquisition will enable it to expand its training courses in emerging segments such as cybersecurity, data science, AI and IT

The deal will also enable FinX to further expand its client relationships, training infrastructure and product portfolio

Founded in 2019, FinX provides certification courses and workshops to upskill students for jobs in the BFSI industry

Financial services-focussed skilling startup FinX has acquired a 100% stake in the training arm of Bombay Stock Exchange, BSE Institute, for INR 16.9 Cr (nearly $2 Mn) in an all-cash deal.

In a statement, FinX said that the acquisition will enable it to expand its training courses in emerging technology segments such as cybersecurity, data science, AI and IT.

The deal will also enable FinX to further expand its client relationships, training infrastructure and product portfolio.

Commenting on the acquisition, FinX cofounder and chief executive officer Himanshu Vyapak said, “With this enhanced product portfolio, FinX will provide a comprehensive suite of programs to address the evolving needs of both financial services and technology sectors, offering cutting-edge training solutions for the next-generation workforce”.

He told Inc42 that FinX plans to tap into BSE Institute’s physical training infrastructure in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata to bolster its scale.

Founded in 2019 by Vyapak , FinX provides certification courses and workshops to upskill students for jobs in the banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) industry. The startup also claims to provide placement to the trained students.

The Mumbai-based startup has so far partnered with more than 400 colleges and universities across India to offer its courses.

Notably, this is not the upskilling platform’s first acquisition. In 2019, FinX acquired Centre for Investment Education and Learning (CIEL), which has been offering corporate training in the BFSI space for more than 17 years.

The latest acquisition comes a few months after FinX raised $6 Mn in its seed funding round from impact investment firm Elevar Equity in December 2024. At the time , the startup had said that it would deploy the freshly raised funds to “pursue strategic acquisitions in the BFSI and technology training space”.

India Ups The Upskilling Game

As AI takes the world by storm, more and more Indian coders are looking at the emerging technology to advance their careers, land high-paying jobs and stand out among their peers. Cognisant of this, the Centre has launched a slew of initiatives to bridge the gap between education and employment and prepare the country’s youth for the jobs of tomorrow.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her Budget 2024-25 speech, announced a new scheme to train 20 Lakh youth over a span of five years and upgrade 1,000 Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs).

Earlier this year, the Union Cabinet approved continuation and restructuring of the “Skill India Programme” till 2026 with an outlay of INR 8,800 Cr. As part of this, the Centre announced that the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0 (PMKVY 4.0), the Pradhan Mantri National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (PM-NAPS), and the Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS) Scheme would be subsumed under the Skill India Programme.

As per government data, 19,774 individuals have so far been trained in various artificial intelligence (AI) courses under PMKVY 4.0.

Apart from this, there are several startups working towards upskilling students and working professionals and gaining a lot of traction from the investors. For instance, former Unacademy COO Vivek Sinha’s edtech startup Emversity recently raised $5 Mn in its pre-Series A round to offer skill-based certificate and degree courses for healthcare students.