Edtech unicorn Byju's raise $400 million; makes total valuation $4 billion

The transaction has made Byju's one of the top five most valuable startups in India along with Flipkart, Paytm, Oyo and Ola. 

Edtech unicorn Byju's raise $400 million from Canada’s CPP Investment Board, Naspers Ventures, General Atlantic and some existing investors, according to documents filed with the Registrar of Companies (RoC).

The transaction is expected to value the startup at around $4 billion, making it one of the top five most valuable startups in India, along with Flipkart ($22 billion), Paytm ($16 billion), Oyo ($5 billion) and Ola ($4 billion).

According to other media sources, the company is expected to use the newly infused funds to expand its presence overseas.

Byju's was launched in 2009 as an online video-based learning for CAT through VSAT. The Byju’s app creates personalised learning programmes for individual students based on their proficiency levels and capabilities, which help them learn at their own pace and style.

Since then Byju’s has raised more than $240 million from Tencent, Verlinvest, Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, Sequoia Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Aarin Capital and others.

In June 2018, the company turned profitable after crossing Rs 100 crore in monthly revenues. In July, it acquired learning platform Math Adventures, and in September this year, Byju's raised $100 million in a private equity round.

The e-learning market is vast in India with corporate professionals and startups alike doing well in the market. According to a report, the online education market in India is poised to grow at a CAGR of 20.02 percent during the period 2017-2021.

Byju’s claims that its learning app has 22 million registered students and 1.4 million annual paid subscribers. The app also sees an addition of 1.5 million registered students every month. Byju’s has been growing at 100 percent annually since its learning app was launched in 2015, and has a renewal rate of 85 percent from its subscribers.