New Delhi: Scaler, an upskilling platform backed by Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global, and Lightrock India, announced on Wednesday that it had acquired Pepcoding, an edtech firm based in Delhi. This marks Scaler’s fourth acquisition, although the financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
The acquisition of Pepcoding is expected to facilitate Scaler’s growth and provide support to various business units, including strategy, product design, B2B enterprise, operations, and instructor organization, as stated by the company.
Pepcoding, founded in 2017, specializes in offering courses in data structure and algorithms, web development, data science, CBSE, GATE, and business analytics. The company provides offline and online courses to undergraduate students, enabling them to enhance their coding skills and improve their chances of securing employment opportunities.
As a result of this buyout, Sumeet Malik, co-founder of Pepcoding, has joined Scaler as an instructor and content creator, focusing on enhancing the learners’ experience, particularly in the low-level design curriculum.
Abhimanyu Saxena, the co-founder of Scaler and InterviewBit, expressed optimism about the acquisition, stating, “Pepcoding’s diverse talent pool and Sumeet’s extensive industry expertise will help accelerate the pace we are working towards achieving our vision and mission.”
Scaler, which launched in 2019, provides upskilling courses for college students and tech professionals. The company has also collaborated with Microsoft, Google, and Amazon for placement opportunities. Scaler secured $55 million in a Series B funding round in February of the previous year. In March of this year, reports surfaced that the startup sought to raise up to $50 million in fresh funding.
Over the past two years, Scaler has completed three acquisitions. In March of the previous year, it acquired AppliedRoots, an online learning platform, for $50 million. In 2021, Scaler acquired Coding Minutes and Coding Elements to strengthen its operations.
The edtech sector has faced challenges as educational institutions have gradually reopened following the easing of pandemic restrictions. To reduce costs, many edtech startups, including several unicorns, have resorted to layoffs. Last year alone, more than 8,000 employees in the edtech segment were affected by such measures. Prominent edtech companies, such as Byju’s, Unacademy, and Vedantu, have all undergone employee downsizing.
