EdTech Unicorn BYJU’S Raises US$200M From General Atlantic

Online Ed-Tech startup, BYJU’S recently confirmed that it received undisclosed funding from its existing investor, General Atlantic. However, sources have confirmed that the amount pumped in by General Atlantic is $200 million (approximately 1410 crore) in the company.

The company announced profitability in December 2019 after eight years of existence and at a time when the ecosystem is plagued by investor concerns over-inflated valuations, IPO debacles, and, most recently, the Coronavirus.

BYJU’S declared that sales in the financial year 2019 (FY19) was Rs1430 crore (US$20.9 million), up to 185 percent over the last Financial Year. In Financial Year 2018, it had Rs500 crore turnover and incurred losses worth Rs38 crore.
Last month, Tiger Global invested $200 million in the startup, soaring its net worth to US$8 billion (approximately), making the startup “the third most valuable Indian Unicorn,” at present. The valuation of the startup after this round is US$8.2 billion, approximately.

BYJU’S has more than 42 million registered users, and more than 3 million paid subscribers. Students roughly spend 73 minutes on the platform per day, and the annual renew rate of the startup is about 85 percent.

“General Atlantic has been one of our strongest partners, and this additional investment shows their confidence in our vision, growth, and future. We are happy to see an ever-increasing acceptance for our learning programs in small towns across the country,” BYJU’S Founder and CEO Byju Raveendran said in a statement.

BYJU’S tripled its revenue from Rs520 crore (US$80M approx.) to Rs1480 crore (US$240M approx.) in Financial Year, 2018-2019, and turned profitable. After this response and success, BYJU’S is now looking forward to reaching the revenue target of Rs3000 crore (US$500M approx.) in the current financial year.

Also, BYJU’S is planning to take its business in the US and UK market and expand to a broader audience. They currently have video solutions and courses for classes 1-12, but they are regularly working to bring something unique every day. Also, they have started working on programs in vernacular languages, and will launch some new and innovative online programs for easy accessibility and to reach out to a broader audience.