Byju’s has raised money from BlackRock, Sands Capital and Alkeon Capital, the company announced on Tuesday. It said that General Atlantic, Owl Ventures and Tiger Global, who are its existing investors, have also participated in this round.
While Byju’s did not announce how much it raised, Bloomberg reported that this round came to $300 million, and has valued Byju’s at $11 billion.
“We are excited to welcome Blackrock, Sands Capital and Alkeon as our partners. As we continue to create engaging and personalised learning solutions, partnerships like these reaffirm our commitment to build and transform the global learning landscape through technology, innovation and quality pedagogy. Continued support from our existing investors is a testament of their confidence in us and our mission” said Byju Raveendran, Founder & CEO.
Earlier this month, in a funding round led by technology investment firm Silver Lake, Byju’s raised $500 million. At the time, it reported that the unicorn was valued at $10.8 billion.
With the pandemic moving education online, the edtech sector has seen a massive surge in demand, with several Edtech firms raising funds.
During the lockdown, Byju’s acquired coding platform WhiteHat Jr in a $300 million all-cash transaction. With coding fast emerging as a key skill for the future, this integration will also accelerate BYJU’S international expansion plans.
Byju’s said that since the lockdown, it has added over 25 million new students on its platform, and has over 70 million registered students and 4.5 million annual paid subscriptions.
BYJU’S has also introduced an online tutoring program for after-school learning needs of students, as well as learning programs in vernacular languages.
BYJU’S also said it has doubled its revenue from Rs 1,430 crore to Rs 2,800 crore in FY 19-20.
Prior to Silver Lake, Byju’s raised $122 million from DST Global, a fund floated by Russian billionaire Yuri Milner as part of its ongoing Series F funding round. Post this funding, DST Global will hold a 1.2% stake in Byju’s. Prior to this, Mary Meeker’s firm Bond Capital invested $23 million last month in Byju’s at a valuation of $10.5 billion.