- In a fresh round of funding led by US-based private equity (PE) investor Silver Lake, Byju’s online learning platform has raised $500 million
In a fresh round of funding led by US-based private equity (PE) investor Silver Lake, Byju’s online learning platform has raised $500 million along with participation from established investors including Tiger Global, General Atlantic, and Owl Ventures.
Silver Lake’s investment in Byju’s edtech platform comes soon after the PE investor picked up a 0.93 percent stake in telecom major Reliance Jio in August for as much as 4,546.8 crores.
Byju’s latest round prices at $10.8 billion, up from its last $10.5 billion valuations from its earlier Series F round which was closed in August.
“This is a separate corporate round, different from the previous Series F round which closed in August 2020, and there are more new international investors expected to fund Byju’s in the next few quarters,” added the individual listed above.
Byju’s raised around $1 billion in funding this year, including its Series F rounds, which earlier saw Tiger Global and General Atlantic invest $200 million each. On 27 August 2020, the edtech startup also raised $122 million in funding from Frontier Global, the investment fund led by tech billionaire Yuri Milner. Byjus had previously received another $100 million from U in June 2020
“Amid this crisis, we’re lucky to be in a field of significant importance. This has brought online learning to the forefront and allows parents, teachers, and students to experience and appreciate their importance. Our classrooms may change for the first time in 100 years and I’m excited about the opportunities we need to redefine the learning future, “said Byju Raveendran, Byju’s chief executive in a statement.
“We are delighted to lead this investment and partner with Byju and his impressive team of educational technology pioneers in their mission to help children achieve their true potential in India and around the world,” added Greg Mondre, Co-CEO, Silver Lake.
Since the lockdown, Byju’s has seen more than 20 million new students begin learning from their website for free. Today the app has more than 64 million registered students and 4.2 million subscriptions charged annually. In FY 19-20, BYJU ‘S doubled its revenue from some 1,430 crore to some 28,00 crore.
Other learning platforms such as Unacademy, Toppr, and Vedantu also raised funding during the pandemic. Unacademy recently raised $150 million in funding from Japan’s Softbank, valuing the startup at more than 1.4 billion. During the pandemic period, Edtech startup Toppr raised $50 million (about 350 crores), while Vedantu raised $100 million, valued at $600 million, led by New York-based hedge fund Coatue.
