Amid ongoing debt covenant discussions with hedge fund Davidson Kempner Capital Management, Aakash Educational Services Ltd (AESL) has taken significant steps to reconstitute its board. Reports indicate that the edtech startup, backed by Byju’s, encountered difficulties in meeting certain loan agreement covenants, leading to Davidson Kempner’s decision to withhold disbursement of a $250 million loan that was initially extended to AESL. As a means to bolster the board’s strength and governance, Byju’s will be nominating three of its representatives from Think and Learn to the board, alongside two independent directors. It is anticipated that the newly formed board will take charge within the next two weeks. Additionally, there are indications that the board may seek new auditors, and Byju Raveendran, the founder of Byju’s, will be the sole executive representative from the parent company on the AESL board.
In the midst of these developments, tensions have arisen as Think & Learn (Byju’s parent company) sent a notice to the founders of AESL expressing their reluctance to proceed with a previously agreed share swap that was part of the acquisition deal in 2021. At that time, Byju’s acquired AESL, which operates coaching centers, in a cash and stock transaction worth approximately $940 million. Post-acquisition, Think & Learn held a 43% stake, while Raveendran owned 27% of the company. The remaining stake in AESL is held by founder Chaudhry’s family, maintaining about 18%, and Blackstone holding the remaining 12%.
Despite the challenges, Aakash Educational Services remains optimistic about its future prospects. The company is projecting a remarkable three-fold growth, with expected revenue of Rs 3,000 crore for the financial year 2023, compared to pre-acquisition figures. Buoyed by this promising performance, AESL is also contemplating the possibility of going public with an initial public offering (IPO) to further fuel its expansion and development.
San Francisco-based edtech startup HiCounselor has raised $1.8 million in the pre-seed financing round, led by Silicon Valley-based Heroic Ventures.
The funding round saw participation from Tread’s CEO Dinesh Godara, and two angel groups, SuperMorpheus, and GoldenNivesh.
Founded in 2020 by Aditya Sharma and Rani Haroune, HiCounselor is an edtech platform that helps students with upskilling and job networking to become skilled software developers, data scientists, and product managers and get into a tech career in top companies and startups in the US. HiCounselor program consists of a 4-6 weeks long cohort-based course followed by networking and referrals using their AI-powered networking tool.
“The tech industry is evolving faster than ever before. But the education in universities is still outdated and does not equip students with the required skills to get a job at top tech companies. That’s why more than 50% of graduates remain unemployed or underemployed. On the other side, employers are desperately looking to hire skilled resources, but they struggle to find the right talent. We aim to bridge this massive gap through our personalized learning platform and AI-powered job search and networking tool,” said Aditya Sharma, Co-founder, and CEO, HiCounselor.
During six weeks of the training program, students learn technical skills via 100+ hours of coding during the training program, more than 50 hours of soft skills training, live projects, assessments, and 1:1 mentorship oversight – designed by reverse engineering industry requirements and taught by industry professionals. Then, HiCounselor finds interview opportunities for candidates using their strong network of partner companies and their unique AI-powered job search automation tool. This tool automatically identifies new jobs every day and connects them with the hiring manager and recruiters. This tool allows job seekers to cut the 30+ hours per week of manual job-searching and networking efforts down to just a few minutes.
There is no upfront payment to attend the HiCounselor program. Instead, students pay HiCounselor 9% of their first year’s salary in monthly installments only after landing a job.
Prior to co-founding HiCounselor, Aditya Sharma and Rani Haroune used to work as a Technology Consultant at Deloitte and Kronos in the US. They identified this gap in the recruitment process during their job, which made them leave their full-time job in 2019 and plunge into entrepreneurship.
Mumbai-based EdTech startup The Language Network is dominating the online language learning market with its effective online language learning programs. Since its inception, they have trained and tutored over 5000 students and impacted the lives of thousands more. The Language Network offers courses that deliver a holistic learning experience. They currently offer live 1:1, Duo, and Group online classes in seven foreign languages from beginner to advanced levels. Moreover, they are expanding their avenues and have already launched a new segment: The Language Network Kids.
The Language Network is delivering an immersive and comprehensive learning experience to all its students. They provide the right training, right tools, and supplementary material to its students for better and robust learning. They have over 200 highly trained language experts who have been in the professional teaching industry.
“Your students come first. If you treat your students right, your customers come back. This, in turn, makes you a happy and successful leader”, says Co-founder Pinnac Yeddy. The Language Network offers live and personalised sessions by ensuring small batches for personalised attention and a better learning experience. Regular assessments and reports are given to students to help them with their language learning journey. They offer students challenging and immersive internships and industry-ready training for placements at leading MNCs. They provide effective counselling sessions to students vis-a-vis studying abroad along with immigration services.
The Language Network has incorporated the National Education Policy 2020. They believe that culture is an important aspect when it comes to learning a language. “Language and culture go hand in hand. To teach a new language to a student, we also have to teach the culture related to the language”, says Co-founder Siddhi Chokhani.
The Language Network has entered the EdTech market and has already established itself as a worthy competitor. Currently, they do not conduct offline batches. However, it is going to change with the advent of The Language Network Kids. They are planning to expand the business by incorporating Kids learning. The Language Network has language programs for kids ranging from the age of 6 years to 14 years. “We are partnering with various schools across India to promote our kids’ courses. Parents are looking to have a recreational experience for their children. They find it astonishing to see how it benefits their kids.” says Co-founder Pinnac Yeddy. They are reaching out to schools with regards to the NEP 2020. The Language Network is partnering with schools across India to inculcate language learning programs in these institutions.
The Language Network follows an internationally recognised curriculum. They refer to the international exams and their respective agendas and procedures when it comes to language learning. They also prepare their students for international exams including DELF, DALF, Goethe, TOEFL, IELTS, TOPIK, HSK, etc. They believe that their students should not only learn languages, they should also excel in the international proficiency exams in order to prove their proficiency.
Siddhi Chokhani, Co-founder, The Language Network
They started out with 4 core members and now they have a team of over 250 people. With its conception, The Language Network has disrupted the offline market. Their online platform is alluring more and more students. Their Co-founder Siddhi Chokhani says, “Students save their time and energy with the online classes. The language learning industry is shifting to online offerings, with convenient, flexible, and cost-effective ways to improve foreign language skills. Time, which was previously required for travelling and preparation, can be allotted for studying. Also, every student needs a dedicated teacher who can pave their way towards learning”.
The Language Network focuses on the traditional aspects of learning. The Language Network is retaining one of the old traditional methods of learning: humans teaching other humans. “Human approach is more effective than any other medium of teaching. We are looking to expand to 10000+ active students this year. Our approach towards language learning will help more students learn a foreign language in a fun and comprehensive way” says Co-founder Pinnac Yeddy. The Language Network is making language learning easy with its online language courses. Globally, the language learning market is around $50 billion. The Language Network is looking to acquire a significant market share in the online language learning industry.
