Byju’s, India’s biggest edtech startup, is busy expanding its business empire. As per the latest reports, the edtech startup has raised a whopping $1 billion from new investors including B Capital, Baron Funds, and XN. B Capital is an investment group of Eduardo Saverin, former Facebook Co-founder.
Exponential Surge in Byju’s Market Cap
Byju’s has become one of the largest edtech firms in the world with a total valuation of above $15 billion. But the firm is not stopping here. The startup is continuously expanding its operations and geographical area. In a recent funding round led by B Capital, Byju’s has raised a total of $1 billion, as reported by Bloomberg.
Existing investors including Silver Lake, Owl Ventures, and T Rowe Price are also investing $100 million each in the current funding round. The latest financial round is not yet closed. This information was revealed by an insider who did not announce his name publically.
The same person further added that there is a possibility to add an extra $300 million in the coming days to make Byju’s valuation higher.
The current week has been a roller coaster ride for the Indian Startup Ecosystem. Around six startups has already declared a unicorn Status this week. They have raised above $1 billion from the new and existing investors. And now, Byju’s alone is raising $1 billion.
When asked about the latest development, Byju’s spokeswoman refused to comment on the latest funding round.
Byju’s also has strong support from its early investors including Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, Naspers Ltd. and Tiger Global Management.
What is Byju’s Plan for the Coming Years?
In an earlier interview, Byju Raveendran, CEO and founder of Byju’s, said that the startup is looking to make more acquisitions to establish itself in the US. For more acquisitions, Byju’s requires more funds. And that’s the reason why the firm is busy with rating funds.
The CEO further added that pandemic has changed the attitude of people towards online education and it has provided a need boost to the edtech startups. All stakeholders are showing enough interest in the edtech to grow it further.
Experts are also talking a lot about Byju’s Initial Public Offering(IPO). When asked about the IPO in an earlier interview, Byju’s CEO said:
“We are seriously thinking of an 18-24 months timeline to look at a public offering. But it can take a bit longer since we are in no hurry and will look at the right market timing.”
The startup is also establishing its offline centres in the US, Australia and Latin America for one on one sessions related to coding and mathematics.
Byju’s has over 80 million registered users on its K-12 learning app that helps students in learning math and science concepts through videos and animated games.
To establish itself in the test preparation area, Byju’s has acquired offline coaching giant Aakash for a whopping $1 billion deal. Aakash is a well-known institute in India for test preparation of Medical and Engineering exams.
