Byju’s set to raise fresh funds at over $2 bn valuation
FUNDING ROUTE Talks on with Temasek, General Atlantic for $200300 mn investment at double the current valuation
BENGALURU/NEW DELHI: Online tutoring start-up Byju’s is in advanced talks with at least two new investors—private equity firm General Atlantic and Singapore government-owned Temasek Holdings—to raise $200-300 million, according to three people directly aware of the development
If the talks are successful, the deal will value Byju’s, run by Think and Learn Pvt. Ltd, at $2.2-2.4 billion, the people said on condition of anonymity. The transaction is expected to close within the next few weeks, they said.
If Bengaluru-based Byju’s manages to raise the funds at a $2 billion-plus valuation, it would more than double the company’s value from its previous round, and cement its status as one of the breakout start-ups from India in the past five years.
A spokeswoman for Byju’s declined to comment. General Atlantic and Temasek did not immediately respond to email queries seeking comments.
Mint had first reported in July that Byju’s was in talks with new and existing investors to raise fresh funds of more than $150 million at a valuation of $1.8-2 billion.
However, the round may now end up being larger than anticipated, according to the people cited earlier.
One of the three people cited before said that either General
Atlantic or Temasek will participate in the funding round, and may not invest simultaneously. Existing investors, including China’s Tencent Holdings, may also participate.
Byju’s is part of a small, but growing bunch of tech start-ups, which have rapidly grown their businesses and consistently attracted marquee investors.
In July 2017, Byju’s had raised about $40 million from Tencent, months after raising $30 million from Verlinvest. Since starting out in 2008, Byju’s has raised over $240 million from Tencent, Verlinvest, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Sequoia Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Aarin Capital, among others.
In the past three years, Byju’s exceeded investor expectations. The firm, which started out as an offline teaching centre in Bengaluru, launched an app in 2015 to increase its customer base. It currently offers two separate learning apps—its flagship learning app caters to students from Classes VI to XII, while the second targets students of Classes IV and V. The online education start-up plans to launch another app for younger students soon.
The move to a digital education platform has been lucrative for the company. In June, Byju’s said that it touched ₹100 crore in monthly revenue and raised its annual revenue target for this year to ₹1,400 crore.