Aptech to take stake in US e-learning firm

BANGALORE: Aptech Limited and eVentures India will together

invest in Mentorix Technologies, a US-based e-learning solutions company. The

company will offer customized e-learning solutions to the corporate sector,

training companies and schools and higher educational institutions. Both Aptech

and eVentures will participate as key investors and facilitators in Mentorix,

said a release here.

In early 1999, Maurice Haeems and his team established an

e-learning solutions company called Turbograd Inc, which is now being renamed as

Mentorix Technologies Inc. Last year, eVentures India completed a $5 million

investment in the business, the release said. The company provides customized

and highly scalable, hosted solutions to e-learning companies, global

corporations and educational institutions and is operating at a revenue run rate

of approximately $5 million.

Mentorix’s services will include development, hosting and

maintenance of e-learning courseware and software applications. Aptech. will

take a 37.5 per cent stake in Mentorix, investing approximately $3.4 million. It

will also establish a state-of-art 15,000 square feet offshore development

center. The center, with 200 seats, will focus exclusively on developing

e-learning courseware and software applications, said the release.

Announcing the new venture, Ganesh Natarajan, Managing

Director, Aptech Limited, said, "e-learning is of strategic importance to

Aptech as it leverages our strengths in our two core areas of operation — IT

services and IT education. The industry is currently at a very nascent stage,

but is witnessing rapid growth. With the support of Aptech eVentures and the

dynamic management team, Mentorix plans to capture a significant share of this

market."

Mentorix is currently based in San Jose, California, and will

have delivery centers in Atlanta, Georgia in the US, and Mumbai.