Scaler (by InterviewBit), one of the fastest-growing tech upskilling startups, has announced the acquisition of the online learning platform Coding Minutes for USD 1 million in an all-cash deal. This is the second acquisition for the edtech startup. In August, Scaler acquired Coding Elements to accelerate business growth, leading to their Data Science & Machine Learning vertical launch.
Bootstrapped by Prateek Narang, Mohit Uniyal and Jatin Virmani, Coding Minutes was started in early 2021 and, within 4 months of launch, enrolled more than 20,000 learners from 120 countries across their varied courses. Prateek and Mohit started Coding Minutes with a vision to bring a first-class digital learning experience for young coders at a super-affordable price point. The platform offers short duration courses that cover critical concepts across Data structures, Algorithms, Programming Languages like Python, C++, Java, Version Control Systems, Data Science, Machine Learning and Competitive Programming. Coding Minutes has quickly become the platform of choice for 50,000+ unique beginner coders and amassed an impressive 6 million minutes of watch time across all their courses. The e-learning platform is also projected to hit an ARR of Rs. 1 Crore in the current financial year.
With the acquisition of Coding Minutes, Scaler will focus on building specialised content that effectively engages the beginner-level tech aspirant. To date, the ed-tech brand has focused on upskilling existing tech talent. This acquisition allows Scaler to tailor content towards students and professionals who want to enter the tech industry and have no background in coding or programming. Additionally, it bolsters Scaler's instructor and engineering teams. Both Prateek and Mohit are exceptional engineers and phenomenal teachers that their students love. Coding Minutes will become a part of Scaler and will continue to bring pocket-friendly specialised courses for beginners as part of the acquisition. Prateek Narang has joined as the Engineering Lead & Instructor for Scaler Academy, Mohit Uniyal has joined as the Instructor for Scaler Data Science & ML Program and Jatin Virmani has joined as Program Manager-Content in the marketing team.
Abhimanyu Saxena, Co-Founder, Scaler & InterviewBit, said. "We are very excited about this acquisition as the Coding Minutes team is fantastic. They are a great combination of outstanding engineering minds with a sincere passion for teaching and giving back to the community. It is truly a 1+1>2 kind of partnership where the impact we can create together for the technology ecosystem in the country is tremendous and something neither of us could have achieved without each other. As we gear up for our next phase of growth and expansion, the experience that Prateek, Mohit & Jatin bring to the table will help us tap into a much wider learner base. Thanks to them, we at Scaler are one step closer to becoming a world-class virtual tech-varsity."
Prateek Narang, Co-Founder, Coding Minutes added. "Over the last few years, Scaler has truly disrupted the tech education landscape in the country. They have built a solid outcome-focused learning platform that helps build dexterity, crack great employment opportunities, and empowers learners to understand how to excel once they enter the workforce. When we launched Coding Minutes, our vision was quite similar. We wanted to empower the masses with industry-ready tech skills without spending heavily on educational degrees. Both Mohit and I strongly believe that after this acquisition, we can add more value to students' lives & help them crack great opportunities given Scaler's strong industry connect. Together we can accelerate the pace at which Indian engineers and techies contribute to the larger global technology ecosystem."
Prateek holds a B.Tech degree from Delhi Technological University and has done masters from IIT Delhi. He worked with Google India as a software engineer before joining Scaler. He has also worked with Coding Blocks in the capacity of a Co-Founder, where he built the complete academics vertical and launched several online programs for the brand. A professional programmer and teacher by heart, Mohit has worked with several e-learning platforms such as Coding Blocks, Internshala, Camp K-12, Dignitas Digital and Nerd Geek Labs in varied capacities. He did his bachelor's in computer science from the University of Delhi and is currently pursuing a postgraduate program in Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence from the University of Hyderabad.
Scaler (by InterviewBit) is an exclusive upskilling platform for tech enthusiasts and has grown to be a prominent name in the tech segment in a very short period. As a testament to its growth, Scaler raised 20 million USD in Series-A Funding led by marquee investors like Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global and Rocket Internet, among others, in January 2020. To expand its offerings, they have also recently introduced the Data Science & Machine Learning program and a unique subscription-based lifelong career accelerator, Forever. Today, Scaler has over 650 employees and 1000+ mentors/teaching assistants on the platform to bridge the tech talent gap in India. So far, more than 8,500 learners have joined Scaler's educational programs.
