Byju's is India's most valued startup with $340 mn round

Byju’s became the most valued startup in India after the edtech unicorn raised nearly $340 million (Rs 2,493 crore) in its latest round of equity funding led by Abu Dhabi's state entity ADQ, formerly known as Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company. 

Byju’s secured Rs 524 crore from ADQ in this round, while Blackstone, Phoenix Rising–Beacon Holdings, UBS Group and Zoom founder Eric Yuan also participated as new investors, as per regulatory filings accessed by VCCircle. 

The Bengaluru-based firm, operated by Think and Learn Pvt Ltd, is now valued at $16.5 billion, the filings showed. This transaction was the company’s third tranche of Series F funding round. 

In April, Byju’s had raised over $455 million in the second tranche, bumping up its valuation to $15 billion (about Rs 1.13 lakh crore).   

Participants included Baron Funds, B Capital Group, investment hedge fund XN Exponent Holding, Arison Holdings, Tarsadia Capital and Macquarie Group, according to filings.   

In the past, it has raised capital from the likes of CPPIB and General Atlantic, who continue to remain invested.   

Launched in 2015, Byju's offers personalised learning programmes for school students in India. 

The platform claims to have over 80 million students, 5.5 million annual paid subscriptions, and an annual renewal rate of 86%.  

Byju’s has also been on a shopping spree. In April, it acquired test-preparatory services Aakash Educational Services in a $1 billion deal. 

Prior to that, it purchased Mumbai-based Inspilearn Education Pvt Ltd, which owns and operates Scholr. Byju’s also bought WhiteHat Jr for $300 million (around Rs 2,247 crore) in August last year.