Byju's valuation soars by $2 bn to $5.5 bn in ongoing Series F funding round; raises Rs 3,159 cr so far

The valuation of Byju’s, India’s most valued ed-tech startup, has reportedly touched $5.5 billion as a result of the ongoing funding round, said media reports. The Bengaluru-based startup’s valuation reportedly soared by $2 billion to $5.5 billion in the ongoing Series F funding round,  a rare development in a single round, as investors clamoured for a piece of Byju’s that reported dizzying growth, said a report in Mint. Byju’s has so far raised Rs 3,159.4 crore ($460.8 million) in the round, led by investors such as South Africa’s Naspers, private equity firm General Atlantic, and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the report said citing data sourced from business information platform Paper.vc. [caption id=“attachment_4292949” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. News 18.[/caption] Last week, Byju’s had said it received an investment of $150 million (approximately Rs 1,028.61 crore) led by Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the sovereign wealth fund of the State of Qatar. This round also included the participation from ed-tech investor Owl Ventures, marking its first investment in an Indian startup, a statement said. This new round would support the company’s aggressive plans of international market expansion and the creation of world-class learning products for students across the globe, it added. In December last year, Byju’s had announced raising $540 million (Rs 3,865 crore) in funding, led by Naspers with a significant portion also being contributed by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB). In May this year, Byju’s had reported total revenue of Rs 1,430 crore for the year ended March 2019 and claimed that the firm turned profitable on a full-year basis. The education startup said the growth in revenue was fuelled by deeper penetration across India and significant growth in the number of paid subscribers. In January this year, Byju’s had acquired US-based Osmo for $120 million (nearly Rs 850 crore). Osmo provides a playful learning system, bringing physical toys into the digital world through augmented reality and its proprietary reflective artificial intelligence. “This new acquisition will bolster team Byju’s international plans…With the integration of Osmo, Byju’s will also look to offer a unique, customised, engaging and fun-learning solution for younger kids,” it had said. Launched in 2015, Byju’s Learning App offers personalised learning programs for school students in grades 4-12 in India. It also offers training for preparation of different entrance and competitive examinations like CAT, JEE, IAS, GRE, and GMAT. It has about 30 million students cumulatively learning from the app. The app creates personalised learning programs for individual students based on their proficiency levels and capabilities which help them learn at their own pace and style.