London - February 2, 2022 - As part of its ongoing mission to become the number 1 global school and a leading education provider, GoStudent has announced the acquisition of two established European education companies. The EdTech unicorn will extend its product offering through the integration of algorithmic learning content via the acquisition of Seneca Learning, and will increase its access to the addressable market by acquiring Tus Media, which provides an open tutoring marketplace. Both acquired companies will continue operating independently under their current leadership teams and with their established brand names. This announcement comes just one month after GoStudent raised €300M in Series D funding and follows GoStudent’s 2021 acquisition of Fox Education, an Austrian all-in-one school communication solution.
Seneca Learning acquisition: enriching GoStudent’s portfolio through the addition of adaptive & AI-based learning content
With approximately seven million students using Seneca Learning, it is the fastest-growing freemium homework and revision platform in the UK. The EdTech company uses algorithms to help students remember topics more easily. Children can choose from more than 1,000 KS2, KS3, GCSE & A-Level courses, developed based on exam board specifications. With the acquisition, GoStudent aims to integrate Seneca Learning’s algorithms & AI-based features into the GoStudent membership, enriching the experience of its students. Not only can Seneca Learning be used during tutoring sessions, it will also provide students with smart learning content that will help them to memorise subject material at their own pace outside of lessons as well.
“The United Kingdom is one of GoStudent’s core regions, and we aim to become the market leader. We have listened to the needs of our customers, and adding a content platform to our core offering is an important strategic step for us, allowing us to further enrich our learning offerings and diversify our portfolio”, says Felix Ohswald, CEO and Co-Founder of GoStudent. In addition, GoStudent plans to bring Seneca Learning’s services to markets outside of the UK, where GoStudent already has a presence.
“Working with Felix and the GoStudent team will allow us to bring Seneca’s free content and personalised learning experience to millions more students in different countries across the world. The team is excited to build on our success in the UK and take our product international to give more children access to an amazing free education”, says Stephen Wilks, Co-Founder and CEO of Seneca Learning.
Tus Media acquisition: increasing the addressable market
Founded in 2011, Tus Media offers an open marketplace for tutors serving four million students. The company brings together teachers, students and academies to arrange online or offline tutoring sessions, based on the user’s preferences. The company’s first service, Tusclasesparticulares, is now a leading marketplace for connecting students with teachers in Spain, and has grown quickly in several European and LATAM countries. Tus Media’s second venture, Classgap, provides a virtual classroom delivering individualised teaching experiences remotely. With the acquisition, GoStudent aims to leverage the strategic fit between the two platforms. Expanding its offering will allow GoStudent to grow its addressable market and reach more families globally. Additionally, students seeking structured, sustainable, long-term tutoring support will be able to access managed tutoring services from GoStudent via Tus Media’s platforms.
“Albert Clemente is one of the most passionate and dedicated education entrepreneurs we have ever met. Working with him as a partner and learning from each other will allow us to get one step closer to becoming the number 1 global school”, says Gregor Müller, COO and Co-Founder of GoStudent.
“The acquisition by GoStudent gives us the thrust to further scale Tus Media with all its brands to new markets and expand to even bigger regional geographies. I am excited to continue in my role as CEO to ensure Tus Media’s success and grow the team further!”, says Albert Clemente, Founder and CEO of Tus Media Group.
David González Castro, founder and CEO of Redarbor - Tus Media’s former investor on the acquisition by GoStudent: “In 2018, we acquired 20 percent and later 30 percent of participation in Tus Media. After the acquisition by GoStudent, we will leave the shareholding. I am very proud of all the success we have achieved in collaboration and value creation with Albert Clemente. Albert and I met at Anuntis and I am very happy that he found a company like GoStudent to develop Tus Media’s full potential.”
goetzpartners Corporate Finance acted as exclusive M&A advisor to GoStudent in both transactions. J&A Garrigues acted as legal advisor in the acquisition of Tus Media, while Osborne Clarke UK acted as legal advisor in the acquisition of Seneca Learning.
GoStudent’s founders aim to assess further acquisition opportunities this year, in order to build a holistic learning ecosystem that will take education to the next level worldwide.
Press images can be downloaded here.
About GoStudent GoStudent is one of the world-leading online tutoring providers and with a €3BN valuation Europe’s highest valued EdTech company. GoStudent was founded in Vienna in 2016 by Felix Ohswald (CEO) and Gregor Müller (COO). Via its platform, GoStudent provides paid, one-to-one, video-based tuition to primary, secondary, and college-aged students in 30+ subjects, using a membership model. Various investors such as Prosus Ventures and SoftBank Vision Fund 2 have already invested a total of +590 million euros in the rapidly growing platform. In 2021 GoStudent acquired FoxEducation, followed by Seneca Learning and Tus Media Group in 2022. Currently, GoStudent is serving customers in 22 countries, employs more than 1,500 people, and works with +15,000 tutors. Over 1.5M tutoring sessions are booked each month. www.gostudent.org
About Seneca Learning Seneca Learning is one of the most-used free learning platforms in the world. Since Seneca’s launch in 2018, 7.1 million people have used Seneca’s adaptive learning platform to study more effectively. The Seneca platform uses cognitive science, gamification and adaptive algorithms to deliver the best learning experiences for students, parents & teachers. Going forward, Seneca’s goal is to build the best free education product for students across the world. www.senecalearning.com
About Tus Media group Tus Media group, founded in 2011, offers educational platforms that let students or companies easily connect with teachers from all over the world. Its goal is to make personalised and quality one-to-one education accessible to everyone, through its brands: Tusclasesparticulares.com, Voscours.fr, Letuelezioni.it and Classgap.com. Tus Media currently employs 50 people and operates worldwide, with a special focus on Southern Europe (Spain, France and Italy) and Latin America (Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Uruguay and Venezuela). From 2018 to January 2021, the shareholding of Tus Media was 30% owned by Redarbor. www.tusmedia.com
About Redarbor Redarbor is an international company with headquarters in Barcelona. It is the market leader in employment websites and digital HR solutions, and has a presence in more than 25 countries. The company was founded in 2013 by the entrepreneur David González Castro, who previously founded Anuntis – Adevinta Spain (fotocasa, segundamano, infojobs and coches.net). Since its inception, Redarbor has become the third-largest online employment group in the world and the largest one in Latin America. The company has 7 offices worldwide and more than 400 employees.
Media contact: Kristina Bassett I UK/IE PR & Communications at GoStudent M: +44 786 914 3214 I E: kristina.bassett@gostudent.org