At a time when tech firms in India are on a hiring spree, edtech decacorn Byju’s is looking to scoop up six-year-old campus recruitment platform Superset for USD 20–25 million.
The Bengaluru-headquartered giant “is in late-stage conversation to acquire Superset and both companies have been finalizing the terms,” a report by local media Entrackr said, citing sources. After the takeover, the two co-founders of Superset are expected to join Byju’s.
Founded in early 2016 by Naman Agrawal and Pranjal Goswami, Superset offers a SaaS platform that streamlines the campus recruitment process for colleges and enables employers to reach young talent across the nation. By taking Superset under its wings, Byju’s will be able to tap the service for its USD 18 billion empire’s growing talent demand that spreads across K-12, test preparation, extra-curricular activities, and higher studies.
Superset, which is also based in Bengaluru, has raised around USD 1.48 million since its inception. It works as the official campus placement portal for over 375 colleges in India, including IIM Calcutta, IIM Ahmedabad, IIT Ropar, BITS Pilani, and SRM University, according to the company’s website. The company claims to have a reach across 24,000 colleges. India has in total around 46,500 degree colleges and higher education institutions. Last year, it facilitated 250,000 interviews for students with 85,000 ensuing offers.
If the deal goes through, it will signify Byju’s entry into the recruitment space. Earlier this year, Unacademy, the country’s second-largest edtech startup, entered the recruitment space by launching its online hiring platform Relevel, allowing job-seekers to showcase their skills and land jobs.
According to a recent report by local media Economic Times (ET), established tech giants, unicorns, and other growth-stage startups including Amazon, Meesho, Infra.Market, Urban Company, Good Glamm, and PhonePe are ramping up hiring from colleges in a bid to counter tech talent attrition.
Another research report from EMA Partners and CIEL HR Services, which ET commissioned in September, revealed that India’s 70 plus unicorns have onboarded close to 150,000 executives over the last two quarters and will be hiring another 125,000 people in the next six months.
Superset isn’t the only startup Byju’s is eyeing currently. Byju’s is also reportedly in the process of taking over Tiger Global-backed Hello English in a deal worth USD 25 million to strengthen its presence in the language learning space.
Byju’s has been on the buying spree since the beginning of 2021. While the company has gobbled up 18 startups since its inception in 2011, half of the deals were done in 2021. To fund its growing M&A appetite, the company has raised over USD 2 billion this year.
The decade-old company, which enjoys backing from marquee investors like Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, Naspers, General Atlantic, Tencent, Sequoia Capital, Lightspeed Ventures, Tiger Global, and Qatar Investment Authority—emerged as the country’s most valuable startup in June 2021, whizzing past fintech giant Paytm.
These developments come at a time when Byju’s is targeting public markets. The company is reportedly looking to file documents with the Indian market regulator as early as the second quarter of next year, aiming at a valuation of USD 40–50 billion for the listing,
