Tekie, a platform for learning to code based in Bengaluru, has been purchased by Uolo Technologies in an all-stock deal. Along with equity that will vest over a three-year period and a performance-linked incentive, the deal includes cash for Tekie's two founders, Naman Mukund and Anand Verma. The amount was not made public.

 

Co-founder and chief executive Pallav Pandey said that Uolo, a business-to-business (B2B) ed-tech startup backed by investors like Blume Ventures, Omidyar Network, and Winter Capital, is looking at opportunities to partner with or acquire businesses in the math learning and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) learning spaces.

 

On December 9,  Dubai-based growth-stage investment company Winter Capital has led a $22.5 million Series A funding deal for Uolo. Another fund located in Dubai, Morphosis Venture Capital, also invested in the business.

 

In November 2020, Blume Ventures led a $3 million seed investment round for Uolo.

 

It utilises both an enterprise resource planning (ERP) management solution and software for parent-teacher communication.

 

According to Pandey, there are more than 400,000 private schools in India, and an estimated 120 million students attend them. The company has signed up 8,500 schools so far with a goal of having 50,000 on its platform by 2025.

 

“The idea of Uolo is that we take ed-tech solutions to the masses in partnership with private schools. Technology in education can really do wonders but it is coming at very expensive prices. The cost of ed-tech solutions today is Rs 20,000-Rs 30,000 a year, but people do not have that much money to spend. It has to become more affordable and for that to happen, it has to be available through schools,” he said.

 

Tekie, which was started in 2017 by Mukund and Verma, provides schools with a coding curriculum that is effective in over 100 schools. GSV Ventures, Multiply Ventures, and Better Capital were among the investors in the startup. One of the main rivals of Uolo, Lead School, is backed by GSV Ventures as well.

 

“Once the schools are onboarded to a platform, they will need ed-tech products and solutions. Uolo has created a platform which 8,500 schools have boarded, and now what we’re doing is that we’re bringing on education products. Education products typically have long gestation periods. So, partnering or acquiring is a better strategy. We had partnered with Tekie earlier, and were working closely with them,” Pandey said, referring to the acquisition.