Byju's raises $800 mn in funding led by founder at $22-bn valuation

Edtech firm Byju's on Friday said it has raised USD 800 million (about Rs 6,000 crore) in a funding round led by its founder and CEO Byju Raveendran, contributing half of the total amount.

Sumeru Ventures, Vitruvian Partners and BlackRock also participated in the funding round.

The company has raised fresh funds at an enterprise value of USD 22 billion, which has increased by about 22 per cent from the last disclosed valuation of USD 18 billion.

The investment comes at a time when the company is gearing to come up with its initial public offer in the next 9-12 months.

"Byju Raveendran, Founder and CEO of Byju's, is also part of this fund-raise and has made a personal investment of USD 400 million," the company said in a statement.

With this investment, Raveendran's stake in the company will increase to 25 per cent from 23 per cent earlier.

"We continue to witness accelerated growth in India and international markets through both organic and inorganic routes. Our sustained focus is on achieving our long term goals around creating life-long value for our learners. Our aspiration is to build something that will last for decades," Raveendran said.

Edtech is a sector where India has the potential to create global champions by solving the trilemma of cost, quality and scale, he added.

"We will continue to invest in multiple learning models to provide students with quality education across the world," Raveendran noted.

Byju's claims to have over 150 million learners on its platform with an annual renewal rate of 86 per cent.

"As a leader in the edtech space, Byju's strong growth and expansion in national and international markets have been very promising. We look forward to working with Byju's as it builds on and accelerates its compelling growth trajectory," Vitruvian managing partner Mike Risman said.