Byju's raises $300 mn in fresh funding from Naspers, Canada Pension Fund

Think & Learn, which runs India’s largest online tutoring platform Byju’s, has raised $300 million in fresh funding from South African Internet giant Naspers and CPP Investment Board Private Holdings (CPPIB), a Canadian pension fund, bringing on-board two prolific international investors to supports its growth.

The investment follows a $100-million infusion by General Atlantic, a New York-based private equity fund, in September, bringing the total funds raised in the current round to $400 million. The latest round values the seven-year-old company at $3.6 billion, a source in know of the transaction said.

Byju’s confirmed the investment but did not divulge any details.

According to the documents filed with the Registrar of Companies (RoC) which were sourced from Paper.vc, Naspers, through is vehicle Naspers Ventures BV, acquired 1,59,352 shares in Think & Learn for Rs12.4 billion ($172 million), while CPPIB subscribed to 1,13,823 shares for Rs8.9 billion ($124 million). These are compulsorily convertible preference shares with preferential dividend rate 0.001 per cent.

Having a new set of large investors — Naspers, CPPIB and General Atlantic — gives Byju’s long-term capital predictability and a free hand to chase growth in the near-to-medium term.

“Byju’s is now clearly head and shoulders above anybody else, consistently adding thousands of learners every month and, more importantly managing to keep them from churning. The other thing the company has done very well is proven that people in tier-II and tier-III markets are willing to pay what a customer from a tier I market pays,” said a senior ed-tech entrepreneur and mentor who did not want to be named. “As long as they project future growth, investors will put in money,” he added.

Byju’s sells online study modules for a fee. It is the dominant player in the K12 (schools) category, and has products for competitive exams preparation.