The private equity investor Blackstone has agreed to invest $250 million in edtech startup Simplilearn. Amit Dixit, head of Asia for Blackstone Private Equity, said: “This is Blackstone’s first private equity investment in Asia in a consumer technology company. Like many other sectors, technology is disrupting education and education technology has been a high conviction theme for Blackstone in India and globally.”
Simplilearn provides online training on technologies and applications in data science, Artificial Intelligence (AI), cloud computing, machine learning including others.
Pointing out further, Krishna Kumar, founder and chief executive, said, “My team and I have partnered with Blackstone to build the largest digital skilling company in the world. We believe Blackstone can add significant value to our company because of its scale, commitment to building businesses, and global network. This will enable us to develop partnerships with businesses and universities as Simplilearn continues to expand around the world.”
Simplilearn’s major business of 60 percent comes from overseas. The company has already raised $28 million from Kalaari Capital, Helion Venture Partners and Mayfield Fund. The company claims to have 2 million plus learners on its platform and expects to reach 5 million soon.
