Edtech unicorn Vedantu has acquired Deeksha, a test preparation platform for board and competitive exams, in a $40 million cash and stock deal.

Vedantu is looking to boost its hybrid teaching play with the acquisition of Ace Creative Learning, Deeksha’s parent entity.

The company had its first offline center in Muzaffarpur in June.

The acquisition will give Vedantu access to almost 40 offline centers across Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, and to Deeksha’s 13,000 students.

Deeksha will leverage Vedantu’s live courses platform, including its content and technology assets, to provide hybrid (online and offline) learning to its students.

Reports suggest that, the acquisition will also help Vedantu further foray into tier 3 and tier 4 towns as it looks to unlock new segments in online learning.

Founded in 1998, Deeksha provides offline coaching to students in grades 11 and 12, helping them prepare for competitive exams such as the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE), National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), and the Karnataka Common Entrance Test (KCET), among others.

Vedantu’s hybrid expansion is largely focused on test preparation as it looks to bolster its play in the segment.

Vamsi Krishna, cofounder and chief executive, Vedantu says, “We have been in the test preparation segment since 2018. In fact, it has been one of our major segments.”

Krishna says, “The consumer research had shown that parents wanted their children to be in a disciplined environment while preparing for these examinations and that the need for them to send their children to offline centers was higher.”

According to reports, Deeksha will continue to operate as a separate entity even after the acquisition as it leads Vedantu’s offline expansion strategy.