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In a nutshell: Prosus is all-in when it comes to investing in EdTech; the tech investment firm has announced that it has successfully acquired Stack Overflow, a popular question-and-answer portfolio of sites dedicated to helping developers and building communities around niche topics. This is the first in what appears to be a series of moves focused on the future of learning independently online.
Prosus has announced that it has acquired Stack Overflow for $1.8 billion. The deal marks Prosus’ first official foray into the world of EdTech. A wise move, considering the projected uptick in demand for education technology is expected to rise by nearly 20 percent over the next seven years.
While already claiming stakes in two other notable online learning companies, Udemy and Codecademy, this is the first time that Prosus has absorbed one of these platforms into its own wheelhouse completely.
In terms of sheer dollar value, this move is one of the most significant on Prosus’ books to date. Prosus and parent company Naspers have been preparing for this deal since April, liquidating assets in order to free up the required capital. Prosus is better recognized in tech circles for its $200 billion holdings in Chinese giant Tencent.
Stack Overflow is an online platform where professional and enthusiast developers help each other solve technical problems. The website is also home to a community of burgeoning programmers coming up in their own rights, gaining knowledge as they comb through shared solutions and post their own.
Collectively, this audience tops 100 million users every month. Around 85% of Stack Overflow users come from the United States. Prosus hopes to expand access to the service globally, especially in countries where there is a growing appetite for knowledge in this domain. According to co-founder Joel Spolsky, Stack Overflow will continue to operate independently.
Prosus is also hoping to soon join forces with Skillsoft, a more business-oriented training platform. This is in anticipation of a planned merger between Skillsoft and Churchill Capital Corp II, a special purpose acquisition company. All parties involved appear to be banking on the longevity of the e-learning movement ushered in by the pandemic.
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