India’s largest online education company Byju’s has reportedly secured USD 1 billion investment from XN, Baron Funds, and B Capital Group. The latest infusion has allowed the ed-tech startup to reach USD 15 billion valuation while being considered as the largest capital increase in India.
Sources familiar with the matter stated that existing investors such as T Rowe Price, Owl Ventures, and Silver Lake Management might also invest approximately USD 100 million each in the ongoing funding round.
Additionally, Byju’s is in talks to close the apparent round with an additional USD 200-300 million investment in the upcoming weeks.
Co-founder Byju Raveendran mentioned that the ed-tech company might plan for an IPO within a couple of years, considering its current momentum. However, these IPO plans could be delayed since the company is looking to penetrate the market at the right timing, he added.
According to seasoned analysts, angel investments in Indian startups have been primarily driven by gambles made by tech executives and successful entrepreneurs, since startups were mostly viewed as a major risk.
Despite these risks, India’s startup ecosystem is now observing more entrants acting as angel investors. These include affluent individuals, professionals of major organizations, and business owners of non-tech companies.
It is also worth mentioning that Byju’s had recently acquired AESL (Aakash Educational Services Ltd.) to expand its presence in the test preparation segment in India. The acquisition deal was worth around USD 1 billion, making it the largest acquisition by the ed-tech startup to date.
Byju’s is currently backed by prominent investors such as Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, Mary Meeker, Tencent Holdings, Yuri Milner, and Tiger Global among others.
Meanwhile, Byju’s revealed the global launch of its online live personal learning platform called Byju’s Future School. The new platform, which will bring Byju’s and WhiteHat Jr integration to the front, will be available in Mexico, Indonesia, Brazil, Australia, United Kingdom, and the U.S.
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