Byju’s has acquired US-based digital reading platform Epic for $500 million. Byju’s has also decided to invest an additional $1 billion in the North American market. Byju’s said in a statement on Wednesday that it has acquired Epic, a digital reading platform for kids of age 12 years and under.

The purchase will help Byju’s grow in the US market by giving access to the over two million teachers and 50 million kids in Epic’s existing global user base, it added. Epic’s CEO Suren Markosian and Co-founder Kevin Donahue will remain in their roles, the statement said.

Epic has a massive collection of over 40,000 books, audiobooks and videos from more than 250 world’s best publishers. It has given free access to educators, and over two million teachers have signed up for classroom use. The edtech startup has seen strong growth globally, including in India. Due to rising Covid-19 cases, many offline classes moved online to ensure the continuation of education while following social distancing rules.