Byju’s is India’s most valuable unicorn. But can it become profitable?

Sign up for the Daily Newsletter, sent exclusively to our Premium subscribers. We break down the big and messy topics of Asia’s tech and startup community. Get the newsletter in your inbox everyday with a Premium subscription.

Hello readers,

The startup world can be a strange place, but I didn’t know that until after I joined Tech in Asia. For instance, the WeWork IPOcalypse happened in just my second month here, and I realized that even the most promising companies can go south fast. And thanks to all the articles I’ve read to write these newsletters, I found out that a company worth billions of dollars could also be in the red. How is that possible?

I’ve learned, however, that losing money is quite common for high-growth startups. So what about edtech giant Byju’s, which is worth US$16.8 million? Well, surprisingly – or unsurprisingly – its core business is already in the black, but India’s most valuable startup is aiming for consolidated profitability in FYE 2022. Can it succeed?

Today we look at,

• Byju’s financial numbers
• The startup that’s providing data-driven way to grow your money
• Other newsy highlights such as the jobs startup that just joined India’s unicorn club and the US$22 million raised by a Singapore plant-based meat maker

PREMIUM SUMMARY

Byju’s has spent over US$2 billion on acquisitions this year. Can it still reach profitability in 2022?

Growing as easy as ABC … that seems to be the case for Indian edtech major Byju’s. Founded in 2011, the company has raised over US$2.7 billion to date and it’s far from being done. Not only is Byju’s planning to raise US$1 billion to US$1.5 billion at a US$21 billion valuation, but it’s also aiming to go public next year at a valuation of US$50 billion.

All these numbers look impressive, but how exactly is the company doing?

• Bring me the money: Byju’s primary business was profitable in the financial year ended (FYE) March 2019, earning a little over US$2.7 million in profit. That figure jumped to over 150% to US$6.9 million in FYE 2020. However, as a group, the company’s losses widened almost 30x to US$35.9 million in the last financial year.
• Wait, 30x?! Remember how Byju’s has been snapping up companies since 2017? All these aggressive deals and marketing efforts have increased the company’s consolidated losses. Although it’s facing losses now, the acquisitions are part of Byju’s strategy to increase its addressable market, which in turn will lead to new growth areas in the long run.
• Acing it: The group’s annual revenue from operations in FYE 2020 stood at US$326 million – that’s up 82.31% from a year ago. The company’s FYE 2021 revenue could likely be double of that, according to co-founder Byju Raveendran.

Read more: Byju’s aims to be profitable by FYE 2022 despite acquisition spree

STARTUP SPOTLIGHT

The data-driven way to grow your finances