Byju’s secures nearly $300m in fresh funding

Byju’s, India’s most valuable startup, has raised 22 billion rupees (US$296 million) as part of a larger investment round. The fundraise comes as the company continues with its acquisition spree to emerge as a global edtech champion.

Byju Raveendran, co-founder and CEO of Byju’s / Photo credit: Byju’s

According to financial data accessed by India-based business intelligence platform Tofler, which was seen by Tech in Asia, New York-based Oxshott Capital Partners led the new funding tranche by investing around US$160 million. Edelweiss, IIFL, XN Exponent, Verition Master Fund, and Time Capital Advisors also participated in the round.

Reports say Byju’s is in talks to raise US$1 billion to US$1.5 billion at a valuation of nearly US$21 billion.

Byju’s was last valued at around US$16.5 billion. This new tranche of funding is expected to take the edtech major’s valuation to around US$18 billion, according to an Entrackr report.

Byju’s declined to comment to Tech in Asia regarding the new funding.

The company could be on the road to going public, joining the likes of Paytm, Nykaa, Oyo, Ixigo, and PolicyBazaar, who have each filed for an initial public offering.

It was reported last month that Byju’s has sped up its IPO plans next year and is in talks with banks like Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, and JPMorgan Chase to set things up for a stock market debut that could fetch Byju’s a valuation of US$50 billion.

See also: Byju’s aims to be profitable by FYE 2022 despite acquisition spree

The company has made 15 acquisitions since 2017, of which eight came this year alone with a total investment of over US$2 billion. Byju’s is eyeing profitability at a group level by the end of the fiscal year 2022. Its losses had widened almost 30x to US$35.9 million in the financial year ending 2020 at a consolidated level.

Currency converted from Indian rupee to US dollar: US$1 = 74.1 rupees.