BYJU’S GOES BIG: In the biggest fundraise for an online education company in recent years, Byju’s has raised $540 million from Naspers, a South African media conglomerate, the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board and private equity firm General Atlantic. Russell Dreisenstock, who heads international investments at Naspers, will be joining Byju’s board of directors.
Founded in 2008 and based in Bangalore, India, Byju’s services first focused on offering video-based tutorials and online quizzes that cover India’s core academic subjects and certification exams. In 2015 the company launched a mobile app, which it claims is now used by more than 30 million students, including 2 million paying subscribers, according to the funding announcement. An annual subscription currently costs 10,000 rupees (approximately US $139). The Economics Times reports that the company is expecting to 14 billion rupees (approximately US $195 million) in revenue this year.
The latest infusion of capital gives Byju’s a $3.6 billion valuation, and will support its efforts to reach a global audience through new English-language classes for children aged 3 to 8, according to TechCrunch. Prior to this round, the company has raised around $240 million in venture funding, LiveMint reports.
This size of this deal dwarfs all recent fundraises in the education technology industry. The next-biggest investment round in 2018 goes to VIPKID, a Beijing-based provider of English tutoring services, which raised $500 million in June.
