Indian professional education company Imarticus Learning has acquired Singapore-based BELLS Institute of Higher Learning in its first international acquisition.
The company said the combined organisation has more than 1,100 employees and operates from over 25 offices across India and Singapore.
Imarticus claims to have served more than one million learners, while BELLS reports a network of more than 150,000 alumni and seven training centres in Singapore.
The acquisition adds BELLS' capabilities in enterprise learning, AI, data analytics, technology and workforce development to Imarticus' professional education operations.
The announcement also highlighted BELLS' links with the Singapore government, SkillsFuture Singapore and companies across the region.
'Partnering with BELLS gives us a presence in Asian workforce development ecosystems and serves as a foundation for expansion across Southeast Asia,' Nikhil Barshikar, group CEO of the combined organisation, said.
According to the company, Indian learners will gain access to educational exchanges in Singapore and career pathways across the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN.
Learners in Singapore will gain access to Imarticus programmes in finance, data science, analytics and technology, the company said.
The organisations have also proposed launching the BELLS School of AI, an applied AI training and workforce-development institute aimed at working professionals, recent graduates and corporate teams.
Its planned programmes include foundational AI literacy, applied machine learning, AI for finance and financial technology, and AI-enabled business transformation.
The courses are expected to be developed with industry partners and aligned with employer demand in Singapore, India and the wider ASEAN region.