BYJU'S operator Think & Learn raises funds from General Atlantic, Tencent

General Atlantic has invested between Rs 31.32 crore and Rs 34.53 crore in Think & Learn, the owner and operator of edtech platform BYJU'S Learning, according to filings with the Registrar of Companies. Media reports added that Chinese conglomerate Tencent had also invested in BYJU'S, taking the total investment in the edtech platform to between Rs 75 crore and Rs 80 crore.

BYJU'S is currently valued at over $4 billion, the media reports added.

General Atlantic is a New York-headquartered equity firm that provides capital and strategic support to help companies grow. According to the filings with the RoC, General Atlantic acquired 4,016 Series F Compulsory Convertible Cumulative Preference Shares.

Tencent had, in August 2017, invested $40 million in BYJU'S.

The latest round of funding comes three months after the edtech startup raised $400 million from Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Naspers Ventures and General Atlantic, along with other investors. At a valuation of around $4 billion, BYJU'S is the world's most valued edtech startup, and one of the top five most valued startups in India.

BYJU'S has been on a fasttrack growth path and had, in July, acquired math-learning startup Math Adventures. In June last year, the company turned profitable, and crossed Rs 100 crore in monthly revenues.   

Think & Learn was launched in 2011 to focus on the K-12 segment - students from Classes IV to XII. The BYJU'S learning application was launched in August 2015. BYJU's was also the first Asian investment of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.

The Bengaluru-based startup founded by Byju Raveendran also offers learning programmes for competitive exams like JEE, NEET, CAT, IAS, GRE and GMAT.

BYJU's has so far raised $784 million over eight rounds, and prominent investors include Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Sequoia Capital, Sofina, Aarin Capital, Tencent Holdings and Naspers. The edtech startup claims to have 22 million registered students for its learning application, and 1.4 million annual paid subscribers. It has been growing at 100 percent annually since its launch, and has a renewal rate of 85 percent from its subscribers.