The popular edtech platform Byju’s has raised funds amounting to $400 million in a financing round led by Naspers Ventures and CPPIB.
Naspers is a venture arm of South African media giant best known for its early bet on China’s Tencent. On the other hand, CPPIB is a new investor. A private equity firm GeneralAtlantic, which has also picked up some secondary shares in the company.
These funds have amounting raised to fuel its global expansion plan of the company. The transaction is expected to value the company at around $3.6 billion which would make it the fifth most valued private internet company in India after Flipkart ($22billion), Paytm ($16 billion), Oyo ($5 billion) and Ola ($4 billion).
Byju’s is in the advanced stages of expanding to English-speaking markets including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. The firm has also hired teachers across geographies for this expansion. Along with this, the company is also working on launching an app for students in classes one to three (K-3) by the end of this year.
The company basically caters to students from classes four to 12. Till June this year, it had around20 million registered students and 1.26 million annual paid subscribers. It has had a strong and steady growth over the last few years. It has been growing at100% annually for the last three years and recently crossed Rs 100 crore in monthly revenue.
On an average, the students spend about an hour daily on the app, which employs graphics and videos to make complex concepts easier to understand. The app helps studentschart a customised learning path.