iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-
India’s online learning platform, Byju’s is making the best use of its so-called golden-period by seeking more investments to further its market presence. This time it has raised $500 million in a new financing round that values the company at $10.8 billion.
The round is led by Silver Lake, and existing investors Tiger Global, General Atlantic and Owl Ventures have also participated in it, India’s second most valuable startup Byju’s said in a statement, but declined to reveal the size of the round and its valuation.
“We are excited to welcome a strong partner like Silver Lake to the BYJU’S family,” said Byju Raveendran, co-founder and CEO of Byju’s in a statement.
“We are fortunate to be in a sector of positive relevance during this crisis. This has brought online learning to the forefront and is helping parents, teachers and students experience and understand its value. Our classrooms are changing possibly for the first time in 100 years and I’m really excited about the opportunities that we have to redefine the future of learning.”
Byju’s prepares students pursuing undergraduate and graduate-level courses, and in recent years it has also expanded its catalog to serve all school-going students. Tutors on Byju’s app tackle complex subjects using real-life objects such as pizza and cake.
The growing valuation of Byju’s comes as education startups report massive growth in their usage.
Unacademy, a Facebook-backed ed-tech startup, nearly tripled its valuation in a span of months with its new $150 million fundraiser last week. Byju’s, which was valued at $10.5 billion in June when it raised capital from Mary Meeker’s Bond, has crossed the valuation of $10.8 billion.
Since the lockdown, Byju’s has added 20 million new students on its platform. Today, the app has over 64 million registered students and 4.2 million annual paid subscriptions. The startup said it has also doubled its revenue. In addition, it acquired 18-month-old WhiteHat Jr., which teaches coding to kids, for $300 million.
“We are delighted to lead this investment and partner with Byju and his impressive team of education technology pioneers in their mission to help children in India and around the world achieve their true potential,” said Greg Mondre, Co-CEO of Silver Lake in a statement.
“We look forward to working with them as BYJU’S builds on and accelerates its compelling growth trajectory by forging new partnerships and continuing to cultivate a comprehensive ecosystem of innovative educational offerings,” he added.
