Bengaluru: Edtech startup Byju’s has raised $800 million in a fresh funding round led by Sumeru Ventures, Vitruvian Partners, and BlackRock. Half of the round’s amount came from the company’s founder and CEO, Byju Raveendran, who made a personal investment worth $400 million in the company.
The fresh funding round comes ahead of the company’s anticipated public listing in the US stock market through a Special Purpose Acquisition Vehicle (SPAC) deal.
Byju’s did not reveal its valuation following the financing round. It was last valued at $18 billion, following a $296-million fundraise in October last year, making it the most valuable edtech startup in the world.
According to the company’s annual financial report, Byju’s saw a 82.31 per cent surge in its revenue from operations to Rs 2,381 crore in FY20 from Rs 1,306 crore in FY19. However, in the same period, its losses ballooned thirty times to Rs 262 crore.
In April last year, it had acquired Aakash Educational Services Limited in a deal worth around $1 billion. The company also shelled out around $600 million for Great Learning and $500 million for US-based Epic.
Raveendran in a statement said, “We continue to witness accelerated growth in India and international markets through both organic and inorganic routes,” reported PTI. He further reiterated that their sustained focus is on achieving long-term goals around creating life-long value for learners.
Reportedly, Byju’s has over 150 million learners on its platform. Their annual renewal rate is at around 86 percent.
The company’s CEO added that India’s Edtech sector has the potential to create global champions by solving the trilemma of cost, quality, and scale.
Founded in 2011 by Byju Raveendran and Divya Gokulnath, the company is an Indian multinational educational technology company.
