The Edtech behemoth BYJU’S has raised $455 Mn from several investors including Baron Funds, B Capital Group and XN in$1 Bn Series F Round. Just last month the company notched up the distinction of the second highest-valued Indian startup, trailing only digital payments giant Paytm, after raising INR 3,328 Cr (about $460 Mn) as part of the Series F funding round.
In the latest tranche, BYJU’S parent company Think and Learn Pvt Ltd allocated 140,233 Series F Compulsory Convertible Preference Shares at a price of INR 1,402,330 per share with a face value of INR 10 and a premium of INR 237,326 to nine allottees amounting to over INR 3328.24 Cr.Of late BYJU’S has increased its fundraising efforts in line with some mega acquisitions.
In the last year alone, BYJU’S doubled its valuation to $12 Bn from the $6 Bn, which included multiple rounds of fundraising. The online tutoring firm saw a further rise in its valuation to $11.1 Bn when it raised a new round led by Silver Lake.
In September 2020, BYJU’S raised $500 Mn in a fresh round of funding led by US-based private equity investor Silver Lake in exchange for 2.09% stake in the company, with participation by BlackRock, Sands Capital, and Alkeon Capital.
This came a month after it had acquired the three-year-old coding for kids startup WhiteHat Jr in August 2020 for $300 Mn, the biggest deal in Indian edtech sector at the time. The latest $1 Bn round comes on the heels of the edtech giant acquiring Aakash Educational Services Ltd (AESL) to bolster its presence in the test preparation segment in the country.
Incidentally, the acquisition amount is said to be $1 Bn as well. “Our complementary strengths will enable us to build capabilities, create engaging and personalised learning programs. The future of learning is hybrid and this union will bring together the best of offline and online learning, as we combine our expertise to create impactful experiences for students,” BYJU’S founder and CEO Byju Raveendran said at the time.
The Bengaluru-based company claims to have added 25 Mn new students between March and November 2020, growing its user base to 75 Mn students with 4.2 Mn annual paid subscribers. Last week, the company announced an international foray into non-curriculum subjects with the launch of BYJU’S Future Schools, fuelled by the live learning model of WhiteHat Jr.
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