Mumbai : Reliance Industries Limited (“RIL”) today executed definitive agreements to acquire majority shareholding constituting 72.69% (on fully diluted basis) from existing investors of Indiavidual Learning Pvt Ltd (“Embibe”), a leading AI-based education platform leveraging data analytics to deliver personalized learning outcomes to each student.
Reliance has agreed to invest upto Rupee equivalent of US$180 million into Embibe, (including consideration to be paid for acquiring majority stake from existing investors) over the next three years.
Embibe will use the capital over the next three years towards deepening its R&D on AI in education, as well as business growth and geographic expansion, catering to students across K-12, higher education, professional skilling, vernacular languages and all curriculum categories across India and internationally. The founder and CEO of Embibe, Aditi Avasthi will continue in her leadership role and will drive the growth of the business.
Speaking on this strategic transaction, Akash Ambani, Director, Reliance Jio, 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 aims to connect over 1.9 million schools and 58,000 universities across India with technology. We are delighted to announce this partnership with Embibe, and believe that their highly experienced management team will be instrumental in enabling Reliance to realize its vision for the education sector, and strengthening Jio’s leadership position as a digital technology company.”
Aditi Avasthi, Founder and CEO at Embibe, said “Embibe’s team has built an incredible technology platform that can deliver personalized learning outcomes in a way that is truly scalable across all education markets. With robust AI stacks focused on content intelligence and automation, behavioral recommendations and student intelligence, our products have redefined the way edtech can impact the lives of students and teachers. We are supercharging our platform with the ability to deliver both content and outcomes for every learning goal in every student’s journey, to be the leader in personalizing education for India and the world. We are excited to partner with Jio – bringing unrivalled acceleration to our growth story through data and device access. Most of all, we are delighted to partner with Reliance and share their deep conviction and visionary passion to sow the seeds of a new India with data as the new soil.”
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions.
Citibank acted as financial advisor, AZB & Partners, Covington & Burling LLP and KPMG acted as legal advisors and Pricewaterhouse Coopers provided tax advisory and diligence services to RIL. Embibe was advised by Arpwood Capital, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Partners and Khaitan & Company as legal advisors and Deloitte Touché Tohmatsu Limited for tax advisory services.
