Indian EdTech giant and most valuable startup, BYJU’S has recently announced that it has raised $250 million in a new funding round from existing investors, including Qatar Investment Authority (QIA).
The new funding valued the Bengaluru-headquartered company at $22 billion, the same figure it raised in March this year. According to a source, the company was offered a valuation of $11-12 billion by new investors after its results were out last month, but BYJU’S did not raise money at that valuation.
Byju Raveendran, Founder and CEO of BYJU’S, said in a statement:
“BYJU’S is now at that sweet spot of its growth story where the unit economics and the economies of scale both are in its favour. This means the capital that we now invest in our business will result in profitable growth and create sustainable social impact. Regardless of the adverse macroeconomic conditions, 2022-23 is set to be our best year in terms of revenue, growth and profitability. Continued support from our esteemed investors re-affirms the impact created by us so far and validates our path to profitability.”
BYJU’S aims to achieve group-level profitability by March 2023 with a three-pronged approach. It consolidates all its K-10 India subsidiaries into one unit to leverage its synergies. Aakash Education and Great Learning, respectively into test preparation and upskilling, will continue to operate as standalone independent units, the company said in a press statement.
BYJU’S prepares students pursuing undergraduate and graduate-level courses, and in recent years, it has expanded its catalog to serve all school-going students. Tutors on the platform tackle complex subjects using real-life objects such as pizza and cake. The startup claims that it has over 150 million learners using its services.
In the past two years, BYJU’S has spent over $2.5 billion to acquire startups globally as the Indian firm expands and broadens its offerings in several international markets, Prosus Ventures, a backer of BYJU’S, disclosed in a recent filing. Meanwhile, the firm also plans to hire 10,000 academic staff across the globe which will comprise about half of the hiring in India.
The latest funding announcement follows BYJU’S plan to eliminate 5% of its workforce, or about 2,500 roles, across multiple departments and cut its marketing budgets as it looks to improve its finances and achieve profitability by the end of the current financial year.
In March 2022, BYJU’S raised $800 million in funding, of which $400 million was pumped in as a personal investment from the company’s founder Byju Raveendran. The company then was valued at $22 billion.
