India’s Fourth Most Valued Startup: Booming Byju’s Raises $25 Million, Now Valued At $5.4 Billion

Edtech startup Byju’s raised $25 million from its existing investor General Atlantic in the latest round of funding, increasing its valuation to $5.4 billion or around Rs 37,000 crore, reports Economic Times (ET).

This investment would make Byju’s the fourth most valued startup in the country. The Bengaluru-based education technology startup had earlier raised $540 million from investors with a valuation of $3.6 billion in December 2018. Byju’s attained the ‘unicorn’ tag (startups with a valuation of $1 billion) in March 2018. It is also the world's largest education technology firm.

According to the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) filings, the new funding round will value the 36 per cent promoter stake led by founder Byju Raveendran at Rs 13,267 crore, or $1.9 billion. This would make Raveendran, who holds the stake with his wife Divya Gokulnath and brother Riju, one of the wealthiest entrepreneurs of the internet era.

Interestingly, Byju’s is one few major venture capital-backed startups in which founders have managed to hold on to over 30 per cent stake.

International Expansion & Acquisitions

In its first-ever purchase of a United States (US) company, Byju’s acquired Osmo, an educational games maker company in January 2019. Acquisition of Osmo is expected to help Byju’s in offering learning solutions to children in the age bracket of three to eight by tapping into the US company’s physical-to-digital technology and content,

The company is also planning to release its international product within the next six to eight months. The product will target markets in the Anglosphere such as the US, UK and Australia.

Also Read: The Era Of Multi-Millionaire Teachers Is Here And Now