[Funding alert] BYJU'S raises $300M at $18B valuation

Edtech decacorn BYJU'S continues to raise capital and in the latest development, it has raised close to $300 million at a reported valuation of $18 billion.

According to regulatory filings, the funding round saw investors including Oxshott Capital Partners, XN Exponent, Edelweiss, Verition Master Fund, IIFL, and Time Capital Advisors.

The filings show that BYJU'S approved an allotment of 77,174 Series F preference shares priced at Rs 285,072 per share.

BYJU'S has already become the most valuable startup in the Indian ecosystem, overtaking Paytm after its last funding round in June this year, where it was valued at $16.5 billion.

This edtech unicorn has been the most active in terms of raising funding as well as acquisitions. The acquisitions have included firms in India as well as overseas.

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BYJU'S fund raising also points towards an international expansion by the edtech giant, as it's on the lookout for further M&As.

Reports in various sections of the media indicate that the latest funding round is part of its plans to raise further capital, which is likely to come in at a valuation of $21 billion for BYJU'S.

The edtech market globally as well as in India has received very positive traction from the investor community, ever since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This environment has accelerated the shift towards remote learning or digital, especially at the school level.

This has also seen emergence of newer unicorns from the Indian startup ecosystem. The country now boasts about five unicorns from the edtech segment.

For BYJU'S, the closest competition comes from the likes of Unacademy and Vedantu, though it has now broadened its offering on the online platform.

The edtech giant is reportedly also looking at filing for initial public offering (IPO), which is likely to happen next year and the company could be looking at a valuation of around $50 billion.