Byju’s eyes $2 bn valuation; in talks with Temasek, GA
Bengalurubased ed-tech startup 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 funds. According to three people directly aware of the development, the proposed deal will value the online education startup at $2.2-2.4 billion.
Byju’s, which is owned and operated by Think and Learn Pvt. Ltd, is looking to raise its biggest funding round till date at $200-300 million, the people mentioned above said, requesting anonymity. In July, Mint had first reported that Byju’s was in talks with new and existing investors to raise fresh funds of over $150 million at a valuation of $1.8-2 billion. However, according to the people cited above, the round may now end up being larger than previously anticipated.
One of the people mentioned above said that either General Atlantic or Temasek will participate in the proposed round, and may not invest simultaneously. Existing investors, including China’s Tencent Holdings, may also participate. The deal is expected to close within the next few weeks, they added.
When contacted, Byju’s, General Atlantic and Temasek did not immediately respond to email queries seeking comments.
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If Byju’s manages to close the round at a $2-billion-plus valuation, it would effectively more than double the start-up’s value of $1 billion from its previousround, and cement its status as one of the breakout start-ups from India in the past five years.
Along with other standout start-ups, such as food-delivery service Swiggy, Byju’s is part of a small, but growing bunch of tech start-ups, which have rapidly grown their businesses within a short period of time to consistently attract 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 company, which started out as an offline teaching centre in Bengaluru, launched an app in 2015 to increase its customer base. Byju’s currently offers two separate learning apps—its flagship learning app caters to students from Class VI to XII, while the second targets students of class IV and V. The online education start-up also plans to launch another app for younger students soon.
Byju’s latest funding talks are part of a broader boom in the online content space in India, which is currently attracting an unprecedented amount of interest from the country’s largest investors.