[Funding alert] Edtech unicorn BYJU’S secures $200M from Tiger Global at $8B valuation

Indian edtech unicorn BYJU'S on Thursday said it has raised a new round of funding from Tiger Global Management.  

Sources close to the fund raise told YourStory that the round is estimated to be around $200 million, and is raised at a valuation of around $8 billion.

If sources are to be believed, this round will peg BYJU’s as the third-most valued Indian unicorn, after Noida-based payments and financial services behemoth, Paytm, which is reportedly valued at around $16 billion, and Gurugram-based hospitality unicorn, Oyo, which is currently valued at around $10 billion. 

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Talking about the investment, Byju Raveendran, Founder and CEO, BYJU’S, said, 

“We are happy to partner with a strong investor like Tiger Global Management. They share our sense of purpose and this partnership will advance our long-term vision of creating an impact by changing the way students learn. This partnership is both a validation of the impact created by us so far and a vote of confidence for our long-term vision.”

Currently, the company is also working on launching programmes in vernacular languages to make it accessible in the remote parts of India. Additionally, BYJU’S will be launching BYJU’S Online Tutoring in the coming months too.

“While these are early days on how technology can enable better learning, there is tremendous potential in this segment to create a highly scalable and sustainable model that can equip and prepare the current generation for tomorrow. Learning is a space where sustainable long-term growth translates to a larger good. This space is therefore ripe for innovation to transform the future,” Byju added.

At present, BYJU’S has over 42 million registered users and three million paid subscribers from both rural and urban areas in India. According to the company, the average number of minutes a student spends on the app has increased from 64 minutes to 71 minutes per day over the last year, with annual renewal rates as high as 85 percent. 

“BYJU’S has emerged as the leader in the Indian education-tech sector. It is pioneering technology shaping the future of learning for millions of school students in India. We are excited to support Byju and the team,” said Scott Shleifer, Partner, Tiger Global.

In FY19, BYJU’S also tripled its revenue from Rs 520 crore to Rs 1,480 crore and turned profitable on a full-year basis. The company now is on track to double its revenues to Rs 3,000 crore in the current financial year.

(Edited by Megha Reddy)

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