Edtech Startup BYJU'S Raises $500 Million In New Funding Round Led By Global Tech Investment Firm Silver Lake

Leading edtech startup Byju's has raised $500 million (approximately Rs 3,689 crore) in a new funding round led by global technology investment firm Silver Lake, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday (8 September).

Existing investors Tiger Global, General Atlantic and Owl Ventures also participated in this round which put the edtech startup's valuation at $10.8 billion.

The new investment comes barely a month after Byju's acquired WhiteHat Jr., a Mumbai based coding platform, for $300 million.

Byju's confirmed the new investment round without disclosing the amount raised.

"We are excited to welcome a strong partner like Silver Lake to the BYJU'S family," Byju Raveendran, Founder and CEO of Byju's said in a statement.

"We are fortunate to be in a sector of positive relevance during this crisis. This has brought online learning to the forefront and is helping parents, teachers and students experience and understand its value."

In response to the closure of schools due to the ongoing pandemic, the company had made content on its learning app free for all students.

Over the last few months, Byju's has entered the after-school learning space with the launch of Byju's Classes, an online tutoring programme.

"We are delighted to lead this investment and partner with Byju and his impressive team of education technology pioneers in their mission to help children in India and around the world achieve their true potential," said Greg Mondre, Co-CEO of Silver Lake.

"We look forward to working with them as BYJU'S builds on and accelerates its compelling growth trajectory by forging new partnerships and continuing to cultivate a comprehensive ecosystem of innovative educational offerings."

Byju's said it has seen over 20 million new students starting learning from its platform for free since the lockdown.

The app currently has over 64 million registered students and 4.2 million annual paid subscriptions.

Byju's said it had doubled its revenue from Rs 1,430 crore to Rs 2,800 crore in fiscal 2019-2020.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)