Byju’s becomes third decacorn from India with latest fundraise

Edtech firm Byju’s has finally entered the decacorn club after raising an undisclosed sum from a global technology investment firm BOND Capital at an estimated valuation of $10.5 billion. 

While the company was reportedly in talks to rake in around $400 million in the new financing round, the company has secured today an undisclosed amount from Mary Meeker’s VC firm, said a Business Insider report. 

The latest investment for the Bengaluru-based company has come within three months after it had secured $200 million from New York-based existing backer General Atlantic at a valuation of nearly $8.2 billion. In 2020, it has managed to raise over $400 million in the ongoing round.

The fresh capital infusion in Byju's will place it among the top three highest-valued startups in India where Paytm and Oyo have already booked their seat.

The development comes during a period when edtech firms have been recording spurt in usages because of lockdown and restrictions on opening schools and coaching centres to contain spread of covid19. Byju’s is one of the front runners on the list of edtech firms which has added 13.5 million new users in March and April. 

The Byju Raveendran-led has amassed over 50 million users on the platform out of which 3.5 million constituted for paid customers. Its primary revenue is generated from the sale of tablets, which allow streaming educational courses and the sale of supporting study material. 

As far as revenue is concerned, Byju’s claimed to have achieved a two-fold jump in its revenue amounting to Rs 2,800 crore for the financial year ending March 31, 2020. It had clocked Rs 1,306 crore in operational revenue and a standalone profit of Rs 20.6 crore in FY19. 

While the valuation speaks for the growth of Byju’s in the past few years, the nine-year-old company also fetched lucrative returns for its existing backers- Sequoia, Times Internet, SCHF PV Mauritius, and Mark Zuckerberg’s philanthropic initiative- the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative in January this year. 

Byju's is the first investment marked by BOND in India. Its global portfolio companies include Pinterest, Uber, Airbnb, and Facebook, among several others.