Online education start-up Byju's in talks with private equity firms to raise around $200-300 million

Online education start-up Byju’s is reportedly in talks with private equity firm General Atlantic and Singapore government-owned Temasek Holdings to raise around $200-300 million, a media report said. The deal, expected to close within the next few weeks, will value Bengaluru-based Byju’s run by Think and Learn Pvt. Ltd, at $2.2-2.4 billion if the talks are successful, Mint reported. In July this year, The Economic Times reported that Byju’s was in talks with SoftBank and other investors to raise $200-250 million to fund its global expansion plans. Byju’s was reportedly planning to expand its operations to the United States, the UK and Australia. [caption id=“attachment_5103911” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] A file photo of Byju’s founder Byju Raveendran, News18 Hindi[/caption] The online education start-up in July 2017 had raised an undisclosed amount in funding from China’s Tencent Holdings. In March that year, Byjus had also raised an undisclosed amount from Belgium-based investment firm Verlinvest. Tencent has been aggressively investing in internet-driven companies across the globe. Launched in 2015, Byju’s delivers original content, video lessons and interactive activities for school students. Byju’s has seen more than 100 percent growth, with revenue increasing from Rs 115 crore (2015-16) to Rs 260 (2016-17) crore. In 2016, IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, said it invested an undisclosed amount in Byju’s. The learning app Byjus’s offers training for preparation of different entrance and competitive examinations like CAT, JEE, IAS, GRE, and GMAT. The platform aims to discover a unique methodology for increasing the pace of learning among students by engaging them with videos and interactive activities for personalised tutoring.